Kuromeiun Tenchuu
by someoneuberglompedtheassassin
Summary: An adventure story in a non-canon Bleach world. Kuromeiun Tenchuu and Shironehan Seigi are rookies from the Twelfth Assassination Division. Follow their story as they take down the enemies of Seireitei, all the while finding out more about themselves.
1. Chapter 1: An Assailant and a Dead End

For the 72nd District of Rukongai, the sun had finally pierced the clouds that had darkened the skies for days, revealing a much brighter landscape beneath. Slum-like and unclean as it was, the sunlight began to show it in a pleasant way not seen for some time.

"Sun's out," said one of the two Shinigami walking down one of the District s many streets. Reminds you of the old times, doesn t it, Tenchuu? It's been a long time since we were in this district. How many years?"

"You know," Seigi, Replied the other man, placing his hand on the back on his own neck. "Nostalgia will only weaken your guard."

"Oh, right," Seigi replied, bowing his head. "Yeah, sorry. I just thought it would bring back memories is all."

"We've moved on from this dump," explained Tenchuu. His eyes flickered throughout the streets of wary of the various villagers. There was not one smile among them as the Shinigami proceeded. Almost all were in the most pitiable of rags. What seemed to be abandoned sleeping bags littered the streets. "And I'm thankful. I this place looks like it's definitely gone downhill since he left. Half of them look like they're going to jump us at any moment." In response, Seigi gave a shrug and a haughty laugh.

"It's not like they'd be a problem for us even if they did," he told his partner, smiling. "C'mon, we re Shinigami for god's sake." Tenchuu focused his eyebrows, as if in thought. After a few brief moments, he too chuckled.

"You're right," he said, taking his eyes away from the villagers. "But still, keep your eyes peeled for anyone related to the target."

"Wait, what?" Seigi asked, bewildered. "Anyone related? How are we supposed to tell from a glance?"

"Oh, believe me, you'll know them when you see them," Tenchuu reassured him, smiling rather oddly. Seigi guessed from his expression he had made a joke of some kind. Walking on with his partner he figured he'd have to wait for its punchline.

* * *

At the heart of the District, a shabby building had been stood for some time. The villagers had often wondered what lie within. It had no obvious trademarks or signs. However two bustling men were always stationed on either side of its only door, so they figured it was important in some manner. Rushing towards this building was a man in rags. His hair was greasy and dirty, a look that his skin repulsively matched. He bolted towards the two guards and muttered a single inaudible word to them before heading inside.

"Kusemono-Sama, Two Shinigami have entered the District. However, we don't yet know their purpose," he reported, bowing his head respectively. He cranked his head upwards to look at his employer.

"I see," came a reply from a portly man sat, sat rather comfortably on an exotic cushion. "Then the Gotei must have finally caught on. Looks like we'll have to move operations again." Rising from his seat and stretching, Kusemono whispered in the ear of one of the servants who had sat beside him. Nodding his head, the servant rushed out of the door. "Meanwhile, you are to gather a few others and see if you can at least distract them while we move." Kusemono reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigar.

"Yes, Kusemono-Sama," agreed the man in rags, and he too ran out of the door.

* * *

Some time later, Seigi and Tenchuu were still walking towards the centre of District 72. The villagers here seemed to become increasingly poor, reaching new lows of wretchedness.

"Surely this didn't happen naturally over time," Seigi concluded, now wary of them. "Areas never just deteriorate."

"I agree," said Tenchuu. "It very probably has something to do with the target. Anyway, just remember, Seigi when we get to this building, don't act suspicious, behave like we're on patrol."

"Yes, yes, I remember," Seigi replied, rolling his eyes. "You must have said about five times."

"I know, but this is important," Tenchuu told his friend. "This is our first major assignment. We can't afford to screw it up."

They continued onwards into the centre, trying their best to keep straight faces. Any one of the villagers could be affiliates with the target. Seigi kept looking in the various windows, keeping an eye on the area behind the two.

"You know, I think we're being followed," he said to Tenchuu, attempting to still appear as normal as he could.

"I see. Pull off into the alley on the next left, I have an idea," Tenchuu told him.

* * *

Kusemono's servant continued on, following the two Shinigami as they marched down the street. This was a very important job for his Master. To disrupt the mission would be to end his own life.

_This is risky. For all we know they could be from Division that specialises in investigation. They might have noticed me following them by now._

However, as time went on, the Soul Reapers did not make any suspicious moves, and the stalker concluded they were unwary of his movements.

_Heh. This is a cakewalk. A flash of the knife around an unsuspecting bend and they'll both be mine._

Coincidently, one of the Shinigami began whispering something and they suddenly veered off into an alley on the left, confusing the stalker greatly.

_What? Was I discovered? What is he saying?_

Beginning to become nervous, the man poked his head around the alley in which the two had just entered. There they were. This was the chance he had been looking for. Excited, the man went into the alleyway and slowly walked towards them. He was certain they could not see behind themselves, and so he was safe from discovery.

_Just a little further..._

"Bakudou Thirteen, Earthen Maw."

"WHAT?!"

Suddenly, vines of earth shot out from the ground underneath the man, ensnaring his arms and legs in a vice-like grip.

"GARGH! DAMN YOU!" he cried from the pain in his limbs. "HOW?! Without the incantation!" The two Shinigami, now facing the stalker, both chuckled in response.

"Seigi," said one. "Make sure no one comes down this alley, his shouts are sure to attract attention."

"Yeah," agreed the other one, Seigi, and he hurried past the imprisoned would-be killer.

* * *

"Let me explain," Tenchuu said to the mysterious assailant. "Did you perhaps see me whispering before we entered the alley? I was already working on the Kidou."

_But what I don t get is how come this guy knows Kidou needs an incantation to use? Demon Arts are practically unheard of by regular souls, let alone researched and known back to front._

"And how did you know this was a Kidou? Where did you gain this knowledge?" Tenchuu pressed. The snarls of the assailant could be clearly heard.

"I'm not going to answer that. You have no right to know, lowly Shinigami," he spoke out of spite.

"You're one to talk," Tenchuu retorted, his smile appearing again. "Do you happen to know what Division I'm from, assassin?" There was no reply. "Twelfth. We have the right to erase ANYONE we see fit from existence. Fancy that? Better cooperate, else I'll rip your limbs apart with that Kidou that binds you." Tenchuu reached his hand out at the attacker and began to close his fist, and in doing so ordering the Bakudou to tighten. The screams of the prisoner confirmed it was working.

"Damnit, okay, okay, OKAY! JUST LOOSEN IT UP! STOP IT, STOP IT!" he pleaded, struggling again the bonds. "I'll answer your questions!" Tenchuu placed his hand back at his side, and the grip of the tendrils loosened. Tenchuu cricked his neck before continuing.

"Right," he began. "Do you know who Kusemono is? We hear he s been creating a new drug and releasing the fumes in the village, getting the civilians hooked on it and forcing them to give him their money to feed their addictions for the real thing. We believe this to be the reason why the economy of this District has suddenly slumped." By the shocked expression on the assailant s face, it seemed Tenchuu had struck right on target. It was obvious he had not anticipated the plans of his master to be so easily figured out. Tenchuu's smirk grew wider. "I see. Might I ask your name?"

"No, you may not," rebelled the attacker, seemingly gaining his wits back. Sighing, Tenchuu lifted his hand up again as if to threaten the assailant with more torture. "NO! NO! OKAY! My name is Dorei!"

"Just Dorei? What kind of an alias is that?" Tenchuu commented, placing his hand on the back of his neck. "Honestly... anyway, one last question. What's the address of his headquarters?" At this point, a beeping sound came from Dorei, causing him to smile. Upon closer inspection, Tenchuu determined it to be the man's wristwatch, which he had only just noticed now. It was the only valuable-looking item on him. "Got somewhere to be? Hmm?" Without warning, Dorei broke out into a fit of laughter, unnerving Tenchuu. "What's so funny?"

"That beeping was the signal for all forces to pull out of District 72," explained the detainee with a mocking grin. "Kusemono's already gone, Shinigami, you've failed." Tenchuu's eyes widened suddenly, with a look of much ferocity and hatred. Forsaking his wits, he decided to act out of malice.

"Oh, he is, is he?" he snarled, taking several steps towards the trapped servant. "Oh well, guess that means you're all safe and out of the woods and able to carry on your little operations in secret. DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH, YOU BASTARD!" In rage Tenchuu lifted his hand up and clenched his fist together. The screams of a tortured man instantaneously followed.

"DAMN YOU! GET OFF ME! GET THIS THING OFF ME!" He screeched, writhing in agony in his tight bonds.

"Sure," Tenchuu said with a sadistic smile, clenching his fist together even tighter.

* * *

Seigi had heard several screams behind him as he redirected civilians back onto the streets, but the one he heard last sounded like one pushed too far.

"Damnit, Tenchuu! What did you do?" He finally said, turning around the face the scene. "TENCHUU!!!" On the floor lay the dying body of the assailant Dorei, his arms and legs lying beside him. "TENCHUU! WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU RE DOING?!" He blasted, now in a state on anger. This is NOT standard procedure!"

"Screw procedure, this guy pissed me off something bad," answered Tenchuu, cricking his neck again and walking past the body. "He'll be dead in a few minutes, anyway."

"And did you get Kusemono's location out of him?" Seigi asked through gritted teeth, tapping his arm. "Did you?"

"I guess it slipped my mind," remarked Tenchuu, shrugging. "Let s go find someone else."

"Didn't he just say everyone pulled out?!" Seigi argued back, his face going bright red. "DAMNIT, TENCHUU! I thought you were the sensible type! How could you suddenly give in to your anger like that, this isn't like you! Now we have no leads!"

"Shut it, we' re going back to headquarters," Tenchuu explained. "Not a word of this to anyone. Tell them he was assassinated before he gave me the information." Seigi could not believe the words coming from Tenchuu s mouth. He stood in a state of shock.

"You want me to lie?" He replied. "LIE?!"

"Yes, if you want us to still do justice on these guys and get the job done personally," explained Tenchuu. "If we tell them the truth they'll stop giving us jobs for a while, and in that time who knows how many injustices could be committed without our judgment?"

_Damnit he' s right we need to do justice on these guys but lie to the Twelfth? Could I?_

"Just this once, for you, I will, answered Seigi. "But if you ever do something so rash again, I will report it. Now let s get this body incinerated and get back to HQ."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** This story is based on the Halcyon Days RPG where Tenchuu and Seigi are real characters (played by me). All content here that is NOT from the canon Bleach Universe is from Halcyon Days, either devised by myself or the original creators of the RPG. But please don't let that affect your opinion of the story! Read on, it gets much more interesting!


	2. Chapter 2: A Lecturing and a New Task

The office always had such a feeling of uneasiness about it. It was not the dark bookcases and file cabinets, nor the black desk that sat in the middle of the room. It was not even the fact that the place had no carpet. Seigi had been in here few times before now, but it only took that number to figure out the cause of anxiety in the office.

It was its occupant.

"Ah! Seigu! You've returned!" shouted Yakuin, Seigi and Tenchuu's commanding officer, with sarcastic glee. Seigi winced as per usual at the deliberate deviation of his name. "So what of Kusemono?" The Shinigami drew in a deep breath and carefully chose his next words.

"Unfortunately, Sir, we failed to kill the target," he explained, deciding an official yet apologetic tone would be best suitable. Seigi kept his stern appearance as best he could, but he had his suspicions that Yakuin could see through it.

"Explain! Now!" he snapped, beginning to go red in the face and grinding his teeth. "Before I have you both executed." Seigi broke into a sweat, but did not falter. He kept his wits about him and continued to speak on, doing his best to console his officer as best he could.

"We arrived in District Seventy-Two and were proceeding towards the target location to look for a way in," Seigi reported. "We appeared as Shinigami on a typical patrol through Rukongai. However at one point I discovered we were being followed, so we continued on for a short while to avoid looking suspicious. We eventually moved off into an alleyway, where Tenchuu apprehended the assailant with Earthen Maw."

"This is Kuromeiun Tenchuu?" Yakuin asked, interrupting suddenly. Despite the blatantly rude gesture, Seigi kept his frustration under control.

"Yes," he answered simply so as to avoid incrimination.

"And what s your name again? Shironehan?" asked the officer. A vain appeared in Seigi's temple. He could not believe his name had been forgotten.

"Yes, Sir, Shironehan Seigi," he clarified through gritted teeth.

"Seigi? Sure it's not Seigu?" pressed Yakuin, as if deliberately tempting the Shinigami before him to speak out against him.

"No, Sir," said Seigi, his expression remaining as neutral as earthly possible.

"Hmmm... Very well. Continue," commanded Yakuin, finally giving up on his efforts to seemingly anger Seigi.

"Tenchuu apprehended the assailant with Earthen Maw and he questioned him," continued Seigi, taking in a deep breath to calm himself. "We learned that Kusemono had already moved his base of operations to avoid being caught by us - he knew we were there." It was here Seigi paused for a moment to consider his options.

_Should I tell him the truth about Tenchuu killing Dorei and face having all trust in us destroyed for good, or should I tell him Tenchuu's story and run the risk of being found out and killed?_

"Go on," spoke Yakuin, smiling. "It was just getting good." Seigi sighed and decided his move.

"The assailant was about to tell us the location of his new base, when he suddenly took a kunai to the head and died instantly," he lied. "I apprehended the assassin and killed him. We then came back to headquarters with no leads, Sir." There was an awkward silence as Yakuin took in the information.

_I hope he falls for it. If he doesn't we're both dead._

"You made three mistakes in your mission, Seigu," said Yakuin, his eyes flaring. "One, why appear as Shinigami of _any_ kind? Criminals tend to run and hide from the very weakest of us, so why wouldn t your arrival unnerve them at all? Second, Why did you kill the assassin and not bring him back here for questioning, or at the very _least_ question him yourselves? Finally, but most importantly, why did you take the Assailant's word that Kusemono had moved? You idiots didn't think to _check_ to see if he'd actually moved? Unfortunately, now, he will have been given time to move regardless, and this is no longer a job for the Twelfth."

Another silence followed. Seigi was utterly dumbfounded. There were so many mistakes in his and Tenchuu's actions. So many. It would have been a miracle if Seigi survived another five minutes in the room.

"I am sorry, Sir, forgive our failure," he said as humble as he could, attempting an apology as a last resort.

"You know what? Let me get something through to you, Mister Shironehan," snapped the superior, snarling. "The Twelfth does _not_ tolerate any form of failure. Because you're completely new, I'll let you off the hook this once, seeing as even the best assassins screwed up to begin with. However, the next mission you screw up will be your last. I will kill you myself. We will not have idiots such as yourself tarnish our reputation of being _the_ most disciplined Division in the Gotei."

"Yes, Sir," Seigi agreed helplessly, even though he knew that was a blatent lie. The Twelfth was in fact the opposite - ridiculously disorganised.

"Good, now that we understand each other I have another task for the two of you," explained Yakuin, who seemed to calm slightly. "A Hollow has been causing particular trouble in a certain region of Japan, and the Gotei does not want it to look like it is giving them any hassle. You two idiots are going to kill it. Got it?" Seigi's eye twitched at being called an 'idiot', but nonetheless obeyed.

"Yes, Sir."

"Good, now get out of my sight," said Yakuin mirthlessly, turning back to his paperwork. Seigi bowed respectably and turned his back. "And Seigu?"

"Yes, Sir?" asked Seigi, turning his head to look again.

"If you fail, expect to have my blade in your neck."

* * *

"So?" asked Tenchuu, grabbing Seigi's arm as he left the building into the peaceful outdoors. "Did he fall for it?"

"Yes, he did," Seigi replied, tugging his arm from the grip of his partner. "But like I said, I won't do it again, so you better not kill off our leads next time." The Shinigami drew in a deep breath of relief and let the sun shine on his face. "Anyway, let's go. Yakuin has another task for us to do until we get that Kusemono thing sorted."

"Okay," Tenchuu said, stretching. "Who we taking down, now?"

"Some Hollow near Kobayashi," Seigi told Tenchuu. "It's been causing a lot of trouble recently."

"Yes!" Tenchuu exclaimed in glee, making a downward thrust with his arm in celebration. "Another vile beast to pass judgment on. Come on, Seigi! Let's go get ready!" Before Seigi could say anything more, an excited Tenchuu dashed off towards the barracks in a flash, leaving his partner to ponder the events to come.

_I wonder if Tenchuu will lose it again,_ he thought, eyes focused on the doorway in which Tenchuu just entered in deep thought. He stood for a few moments longer before following the path of his ally.


	3. Chapter 3: Hollows and Tactics

"Say WHAT about this hollow?!" Seigi asked, slightly taken aback from his partner's previous statement.

"It's already taken down a squad of five new Third recruits," repeated Tenchuu, sighing from frustration. "So what do they go do? Send in a single pair of fresh _Twelfth_ recruits. Very nice."

Seigi frowned. If what Tenchuu had just said was true, something did not quite add up. How is a simple Hollow strong enough to kill five Third recruits? If it were at Menos level, he would have been warned. Why send in such a small force to tackle such a threat? Were they trying to get them killed for screwing up the previous mission?

_This is no time to complain,_ thought Seigi. _This is our last chance to redeem ourselves. Failure means death, and if that happens we'll never serve justice again._

The two dashed along the countryside of Japan's Miyazaki Prefecture towards the town of Kobayashi, where the target was said to be last located. Once close to the objective they heard the unmistakable, heart-shaking roar of a hollow. It was a few miles away from the given point, but it was logical that in the delay between the recording of its position and the two Shinigami being dispatched the beast would have moved in its hunt for fresh souls.

"Right, let's get in close but stay hidden," Tenchuu suggested to Seigi, smiling. "We need to find out what makes it so deadly before blindly charging in."

"I agree," said Seigi.

* * *

The two hurtled themselves into a cluster of bushes near the origin of the bestial call. Seigi agreed to stay put for a moment while Tenchuu pounced into the trees above the bushes, so as to get a better view.

Lightly parting the leaves Tenchuu focused his eyes on the area in front of him to locate the horror. It was easy enough to spot. A hollow the size of the elephant was walking casually down the countryside with its back turned to Seigi and Tenchuu. What seemed to be long clumps of fur hung down from its body, yet seemed more akin to tentacles, due to their massive size. Tenchuu frowned.

_There seems nothing too testing about this thing. Then again, I'm only looking at its backside._

Deciding he had seen all he could, Tenchuu dropped back into the bushes below, narrowly missing crushing Seigi.

"Hey!" Seigi cried, surprised, Tenchuu immediately moved to cover his mouth with his hand.

"Shush! We don't want it to hear us!" He said. Seigi nodded, and the hand was removed. "Now, all I can see is its behind, but from what I saw, it's nothing special."

"Nothing special?" Repeated Seigi. "Then how the hell did it kill all those Shinigami?" Tenchuu's response was a simple shrug.

"Wrong hollow?" He replied. "There does seem to be a lot more in Japan rather than anywhere else."

"Everyone knows that, dumbass," Seigi snapped. "But it's that kind of thinking that caused us to screw up our _last_ mission, remember?" Tenchuu sighed lightly and bowed his head. Seigi was right. "Okay, let's not take any chances. I have an idea. You charge in and distract it while I get close and bind it with Earthen Maw."

"You know, Earthen Maw won't hold something so big for long," Seigi spoke.

"I know, but it'll be long enough for you to leave a great big gouge down its mask," Tenchuu explained, winking at his partner. "Come on, let's give it a whirl."

* * *

Seigi charged up to the large fiend, his zanpakuto already drawn and poised to strike the creature in the rear.

"Hey!" He shouted. "Here I come!" As he neared the hollow however, he noticed something odd. Its fur seemed to vibrate. "Oh, crap."

Suddenly, like massive vines, the tendril-like fur shot out from the beast's form and raced towards Seigi.

"OH, CRAP!" He cried again, holding his blade broadside from instinct. One of the tendrils hit the zanpakuto and sent him flying backwards, out of the reach of the others.

_So _this_ is why the Third had trouble._

Landing on the ground and regaining his footing, Seigi panted heavily, planting his zanpakuto into the ground and resting on it.

_I don't think I've ever seen a hollow like that before._

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Tenchuu charged up to the Hollow, presuming that Seigi had been successful in drawing its gaze.

"Ensnaring sands, fleeting winds, bind yourself to mine enemy," He chanted quietly, holding his hand out at the hollow. Without warning, more tentacles dashed out from the creature s body and flew straight at Tenchuu. "WHAT?!"

Having kept his zanpakuto sheathed, he had no defence, and the first tendril hit him hard in the stomach, sending him backwards many metres. He landed on the floor on all fours, clutching the place he had just been hit.

"Damn it," He cursed, glaring at the enemy angrily. He scanned around the area for Seigi, and concluded he had suffered the same attack. Rising to his feet, he began to run around the hollow with high speed in an attempt to locate Seigi.

As anticipated, the tentacles of the hollow darted out, attempting to smash Tenchuu. That was when he realised something.

_How does the hollow know where I am exactly it's facing away from me._ He continued on, using his unusually fast speed to dodge the many limbs and race towards Seigi. _Do those tendrils all have sensors on them?_

* * *

Seigi saw Tenchuu come from behind the hollow being attacked by the many vines of the hollow s fur .

"Tenchuu!" He cried out to him, rushing towards him with his sword raised.

"No! Go back, you idiot! I'm coming for YOU!" Tenchuu shouted in response, jumping over a tentacle that had attempted to catch his feet. The two had managed to get out of the creature's reach. However, it wasn't finished yet.

The hollow itself seemed to jerk to life, and twisted its gargantuan form in the direction of the Shinigami. Its mask resembled that of a mammoth, with great tusks poking out of both sides of the hideous face.

"Seigi, those tentacles inform the hollow where we are," Tenchuu explained. "We can't attack it from behind."

"What do we do? I can't take on all of those things, and you won't be able to bind them all, either," asked Seigi, never taking his eyes off the fiend as it slowly stomped towards them. The response from Tenchuu was near instantaneous.

"I'll use Sickle Winds," Tenchuu proposed, eyeing the tendrils in an almost longing way. "I'll cut off as many as I can, then it s up to you to finish off whichever ones are left and take its mask." While Seigi was impressed at the speed of which Tenchuu had thought up the idea, it still had one hole in its logic.

"But I thought the individual sickles were weak and leave really small cuts?" He reminded him, taking a few steps back as the hollow drew nearer.

"Yes, but those tendrils independently look very frail," Tenchuu explained in response. "I bet if I pumped in more reiatsu I could make the sickles slightly stronger, and cut down nearly all of the tendrils." Seigi smiled and nodded. "Just draw its attention while I fire up the Kidou."

"Gotcha," replied Seigi simply, springing towards the hollow.

* * *

As Tenchuu gathered as much reiatsu as he could muster into his hands, he watched Seigi charge the hollow, cutting down the tentacles that shot out at him, hacking and slashing. However, his assault did not come without consequence, and he took several beatings for his efforts.

Tenchuu had to be quick.

"Slice open the gaps to Heaven's gateway!" he cited, outstretching his arm and opening his palm to face the hollow. "Draw the hidden blade, Hadou number nine, Kamaitachi!"

The wind around Tenchuu began to quicken and bluster around him, gathering all around and swirling in dozens of small pockets. Suddenly, Tenchuu clenched his fist and the pockets fired in the form of sharp air, travelling as fast as wind towards the hollow. When he fired, the shinigami was careful not to aim any attacks at Seigi.

The blasts of air ravaged the hollow, severing the majority of the tendrils in a bloody yet beautiful display.

True to the plan, Seigi hacked down a couple of the remaining limbs as he made his way to the front of the beast, where he slashed down on its demonic mask with all his force.

The behemoth thrashed and roared in pain, forcing Seigi to pounce backwards to avoid behind caught. A few moments later the hollow began to fade, as its soul was purified and sent to Soul Society

The battle was over.

* * *

"Man, that was hectic," Seigi said, lying on the grass absolutely exhausted and soaked from the blood of the exploding hollow.

"Yeah," Tenchuu replied half-heartedly. He too was laid on the grass in fatigue. "Anyways, I worked out why they sent in Twelfth instead of more Third. The recruits in particular just like to charge in and hack it to pieces quickly. We on the other hand plan our kills carefully."

"Yeah, I guess you re right," Seigi agreed, struggling to get up. "Anyway, before we go back to HQ, we need to check the town in case that wasn't the hollow we were supposed to be after."

"WHAT?!" Tenchuu barked, suddenly going wide-eyed. Do we REALLY have to traipse around looking for something stronger than that beast we just killed off?!"

"Remember when we didn't check during our last mission?" Seigi said. "I'd hate to have failed this mission. That thing we just killed most likely WAS the target, but we need to be sure."

"Whatever," replied Tenchuu, rising to his feet and stretching. "But when we get back you owe me a drink."


	4. Chapter 4: 'Watch' and Learn

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** This chapter is known as a 'collaberation' and was half written by me and half written by a user called 'workthosestripes' on . I will divide areas where we change and label them with the character's name. Although written by two people, this chapter is still very interesting and part of the main storyline.

* * *

**_Kuromeiun Tenchuu_**

Seigi once more stepped inside the office filled with the dark bookcases, the file cabinets, the black desk. Except this time the feeling was not of uneasiness, it was of satisfaction.

"Sir, I have returned, the hollow has been slain," he reported to the man at the desk, his superior commander. Seigi attempted to appear impressive, standing in a very formal, straight position, hands pressed against his side.

"Good, good," Yakuin said, yawning and slumping his head into one hand. "So big Seigu took down a hollow." At the once more deliberate twisting of his name, a vain began to pulse in Seigi's temple. "You look proud. Could it be because you took down a hollow that had killed five men already? Let me get something through to you."

Seigi stood in the room, his posture still as tight as his strained willpower would allow. Inside, however, his pride had just been mercilessly shredded.

"We only sent you two screw-ups because those Third divisioners were even worse screw-ups. They thought they were amazing, got really cocky, and then didn't think before taking the beast. It was a task given to the Twelfth to clean up their mess, and I pushed it to the side as scraps for you two."

Seigi grinded his teeth. Such was the urge to leap across the desk and draw his blade at the fiend who sat in that chair. Surely, his position could not be justified. Why did he tear and tear at his subordinates?

"Anyway, you re in luck; you've been given a chance to make me shut my trap," explained Yakuin. "Oh, Rin!"

Seigi frowned. Was he calling someone outside?

* * *

**_Rin Logan_**

Rin frowned at the calling of her name. She had just got back from a job and she really didn t feel like being pulled into any paperwork right now. Now she was seated, that s what things like this usually were. But, as much as she detested it, she couldn t avoid it and so she stepped unwillingly into the small office. There were some other Shinigami in there; she wasn t really paying attention to them. It was best that this just got sorted as soon as possible.

"Yes?" she asked, trying not to sound _too_ rude.

It was unfortunate that she had been caught in such a foul mood, but it was always this attitude that took over her after she returned from a mission she felt that had not performed her best in. It had been a simple mission this time, just taking out a Hollow, but she had gotten a bit confident. She had tripped over a branch It pissed her off a little that something so stupid had almost got her hurt. But, she couldn t let it get to her right now.

* * *

**_Tenchuu_**

Yakuin smiled as the seated officer walked into the room. Most unusually, he sat straight when she entered the room, and even combed his fingers through his hair, as if attempting to make himself more striking.

"Good to see you!" he said energetically. Seigi's eye twitched. "He was being nice to someone? I hope you're doing well! Anyhow, I believe you are here to get a new mission, hmm? Right, both of you, I have the details here."

As Yakuin spoke those words, Seigi began examining the woman he had called in, this Rin. Although short, her face held the youth of a woman in the prime of her life. She also had oddly unique features for a woman of her nature; short, brown, ruffled hair; thick, black eyeliner, which seemed to make her brown eyes bigger than the norm; and to top things off, she had a textured white handprint across her left cheek. He then turned his eyes to her weapon. Instead of a sheath, Rin had decided to tie a battered, old red cloth around it, held together with black string. Even the guard seemed irregular, composed of different ovular shapes. One thought struck Seigi about the Shinigami.

_She seems a bit... odd._

"Right, Miss Logan, Seigu," spoke Yakuin after pulling out a few papers from the inside of his desk. Another vain appeared in Seigi's forehead. "Recently a new 9th Divisioner has gone AWOL and run off to Rukongai, where he has gone and killed many civilians. We know not of the motive, only that he seems to have gone insane."

"So you want us to kill him," Seigi said, attempting to appear impressive before the Ninth Seat. It was important he left a good impression on the higher-ups.

"No, Seigu," Yakuin replied, his expression dropping in annoyance. He turned to look at Rin. "Honestly, always jumping the gun, these recruits, hmm? No, _your_ job will be to observe how a professional works. Rin will be doing the work, and you and your buddy Tenchuu outside will be sitting on the side." Seigi began to go red in the face. His idea had been turned on itself.

* * *

**_Rin_**

So, she was going to babysit and show off? Then again, she couldn't let the fact that she was seated get to her. She had once been in the same position as the other Shinigami, this Seigi, herself. It just didn t feel right that, the moment she gained more power than others, that she abused it so much. Then again, when had she started caring about how she treated others? She frowned. There was no point in suddenly thinking about how she acted, when she had never had such thoughts ever before.

"Is something wrong, Miss Logan?" the other guy asked. She'd forgotten his name. Apparently, however, he had taken her frowning the wrong way.

"Oh no," she explained, "What District is this guy in? Got a photo or something?"

The man pushed the paper that he had only just gotten out of his desk. Whoops, she hadn t noticed him do that. She really had to pay just a little more attention to what was going on, even if she didn t care all that much. She looked through the papers briefly. She didn t really care about any of the finer details, just what the guy looked like, what District he was in, which appeared to be the 34th, and whether he had Shikai. Which he didn't. Oh, fun. But, then again, the insanity thing might prove interesting and make it more of a challenge.

Although, she wasn't too keen on letting the other two just follow her and watch. How were they supposed to learn that way? No, she d make them join in, even if this guy, whatever his name was, didn't want them to.

"Okay then," she spoke, walking towards the door, "Shouldn't be too hard. You know me, I'm always up for killing someone."

"Yes I've heard."

* * *

**_Tenchuu_**

Seigi watched intently as the woman spoke to Yakuin. He could not decide whether the way she casually spoke about killing a fellow Shinigami was to be admired or frowned upon. He assumed this is how the cold-hearted members of the Twelfth carried out their justice.

"Anyway," Yakuin said finally, laying back in his chair. "Off you go, Miss Logan! Oh, and Seigu?" Seigi's eyes flickered to him as a false sign of respect. "In the unlikely event of your return, please don't forget to report in, I wanna hear what you learned, if anything."

Fighting down the incredible urge to throw an insult at him, Seigi nodded and left the room.

*

"Hey, Seigi," Tenchuu said as his partner came out from the offices. He then spotted Rin behind him. "What the... who the hell is she?"

* * *

**_Rin_**

This must be the other boy then. She couldn t remember his name either... Had she been told? For some reason the only name that seemed able to stick in her head was Seigi's. Although, she was already liking this Shinigami s attitude. None of this polite shit that others showed. He seemed ready. Ready to kill perhaps? No, she couldn't really tell from a few words. But, he didn't seem like the kind of Shinigami who would hesitate. Not like she had used to be. She wasn't sure about Seigi though, but then again, all members of the Twelfth eventually learned.

"Rin Logan, Ninth Seat," she replied, "And who are you?"

She didn't wait for the answer before continuing her walk down the halls. She was eager to get stuck into this mission, she was eager to go out there, find out what was up with the guy, fight him, kill him and then return back to the Division, a success story just waiting to be told. Although, perhaps it was only right that she let these two boys shine in this particular job? But, she did like getting the credit things. Oh dear. She was rather torn.

* * *

**_Tenchuu_**

When Rin spoke her rank, Tenchuu's mouth dropped open.

"Oops, forgive my manners, Ma'am," he said sincerely, closing his eyes and rubbing the back of his head. _Man, I hate acting all polite. This is why I usually get Seigi to report to that Yakuin bastard._ When he reopened his eyes he noticed Rin and Seigi had walked off down the halls. _Damn! I m getting left behind!_ He rushed forward and caught up with them. "I'm Kuromeiun Tenchuu. So what's the mission, Ma am?"

Seigi hurried beside Rin and stuck close, aiming to get in her good books. This was a good time to impress the superior officers. Tenchuu seemed to be more relaxed about the whole thing. He hoped he wouldn t jeopardise her respect for the two.

* * *

**_Rin_**

"We're going to kill a crazy guy," she explained with forced enthusiasm, "Some Shinigami seems to have gone over the edge a bit. I'm supposed to show you guys what must be done, but I really think you should do something. It seems a bit stupid otherwise. How are you going to learn?"

She walked out of the building and the three were greeted by a sudden cold breeze. Rin shivered. But, it wasn t because she was cold. No, she wouldn t let something as stupid as the weather get to her. What was really bothering her was that the three of them were going to kill someone who had gone insane, crazy. Perhaps not to such an extreme, but she knew someone who was very similar to that. Yes, perhaps one day they would be killing her to. Although, was she really crazy if she was aware of what was going wrong? She wasn't sure. She just knew that things weren't right with her yet.

She shook the thought from her mind.

* * *

**_Tenchuu_**

"Some crazy guy?" Tenchuu repeated, smiling. "A fellow Shinigami, hmm? Sounds like we're getting serious, now!"

"Well, ish," Seigi replied, scratching his head as the three made it into the outside air. "We aren't really meant to be taking part, meaning Yakuin still doesn't trust us with big missions yet."

"I see," Tenchuu said. Seigi spoke to truth. He had wondered a long time why his friend was treated so poorly by the superior officer. "Well in any case, we ought to get moving, hmm, Ma'am?"

* * *

**_Rin_**

"Yes," she muttered, nodding more to herself really as she led the pair away from the Division, "He's in the 34thth District."

She did not talk to them as they walked towards the gates that separated Rukongai from Seireitei, there was nothing else to say to them. She was quick to dial an operator, opening up Charon's Road for the trio and stepping through it. Once she was through she turned around and waited for them to step through into the 34th District.

"The plan is," she said, not giving them even a breath of air before the mission began, "Is to search out for a stronger Reiatsu. Although, if you can't reach out with your senses that far, it makes more sense to just ask around, I guess."

Rin had also noticed that the people of the District, who walked with fear, but apparently they did not hold enough of the feeling to run as far as they could in the opposite direction of the source. And the source, if their looks towards the trio were anything to judge by, was certainly a Shinigami. More than likely their target.

But, no, he didn t appear to be in the area anymore.

She searched out, trying to sense the Reiatsu of a Shinigami, hoping that there wouldn t be any others in Rukongai that she could get mixed up with. Funny, the boy hadn t been able to sense the Shinigami, but she could easily feel the targets presence, near the edge of the District border. She had never realized that one could sense further away once they got stronger. Nevertheless, it seemed that, insane as he apparently was, their target had some brains. He was getting as far away from Seireitei as possible. But, he wasn't fast enough. Shame.

"This way," she said to the others, charging off towards the border. She turned her head back towards them suddenly, wondering whether she was supposed to be giving them any advice or something like that, "You'll probably be able to sense further when you're stronger."

Was that good enough? She had never taught anyone before.

* * *

**_Tenchuu_**

Tenchuu and Seigi waited patiently while Rin scanned the area for the target. They shared a hunch that the more experienced officer would somehow have better sensing capabilities, and detect him even if he was masking his reiatsu. Still, how would an insane man be able to think to do that?

As Rin beckoned them and began to charge off, the two snapped out of their deep thought and followed obediently. Tenchuu sighed at the Ninth Seats superior sensing skills. He then heard Rin's words of wisdom and a weak smile etched its way onto his face.

"I hope," he said simply, attempting to reach her side. Another few minutes into the run, the three had gotten onto the other side of the District.

"Hey, wait up!" Seigi cried from a few meters behind the other two, lagging behind and out of breath.

"Oh, crap," Tenchuu said, turning his head back. "I forgot to mention, Rin-Sama, Seigi doesn't particularly take to Hohou. He's a lot slower than me."

Seigi's eye twitched once more at Tenchuu's comment. Whether accidently or deliberately he had just probably tarnished whatever positive opinion Rin had of Seigi.

"Nevermind, we're nearly at the outskirts any-" Seigi began, but his was cut off very sharply and suddenly. A blast of massive reiatsu pressure swept the area, pushing many of the citizens down to the ground from strain.

"_This_ isn't unseated-level!" Tenchuu shouted over the noise of the screaming civilians. "I thought the info we were given said he was unseated!"

* * *

**_Rin_**

Rin turned, surprised to see the two behind her distracted by the sudden blast of Reiatsu. Then again, she had probably grown more tolerant to such things since her first day out of the Academy, maybe it was more overpowering to the other two. Even so, it wasn t too much stronger than they were themselves and probably only the cause of their target s insanity. But, she didn t want to have to drag around Shinigami who couldn t even ignore such things

"He's not," she explained, "Just because he's stronger doesn't mean he's Seated. Some people aren't so lucky. Come on, we need to go kill this guy."

She turned around again sped off towards the source of the Reiatsu. Considering how these two were reacting, she was probably going to have to step him for sure in this fight, if it came down to one at all. Which begged the question of how they were going to get information out of an insane guy. Nevertheless, they would have to try.

* * *

**_Tenchuu_**

Seigi sighed at Rin's words, hitting his forehead with the palm of his hand.

_Nice mistake, doofus,_ he thought, getting the urge to hit his partner round the back of the head. _Way to show us up even more!_

Tenchuu on the other hand had an expression of bewilderment on his face.

_An unseated Shinigami can _still_ be this powerful?!_ He thought. _This must be why Rin was put on the job instead of us._

The trio continued on, and the spirit pressure grew in almost an parallel fashion to the closing distance between the Twelfth Divisioners and their target. The power was not enough to paralyse the two more inexperienced men, but it still unnerved them. They were close now.

Very close.

* * *

**_Rin_**

The three of them swiftly closed the distant between their target and Rin couldn't help but notice how unnerved the others were simply by the guys Reiatsu. It wasn't that impressive, but then again, perhaps she was just used to this way of life now. She wasn't sure, however, what would cause someone who was meant to be hiding to suddenly blast out all their Reiatsu. Crazy or not, this guy hadn t seemed to be unintelligent, if he had evaded Soul Society for so long It made her think

And they weren t just close anymore.

They were there.

They had arrived outside a large building, though one of poor design and build. The wood that held the place together was swiftly falling apart. It made her pity people who had to live in such conditions. Then again, she herself hadn t been that much better off. But, those days were not for her to remember.

She leaned against the door, trying to hear the inside, but all that was to be heard was a strange kind of panting. That was weird.

Then suddenly the Reiatsu stopped. She could still sense the man, inside, but he wasn t pumping his Reiatsu out anymore. That was strange.

And then the panting stopped, and all she could hear was crying.

What was wrong with this man? He didn't sound like he was crazy, he sounded like was on

"Well, this is your mission," she whispered to the other two inside, "Go and do what you have to do. But, I guess I'll still be keeping an eye on things."

She really was going against her orders. She was supposed to be showing them what to do, teaching them by helping them see. But, what was that going to accomplice? Nothing. They had to do this for themselves one day.

* * *

**_Tenchuu_**

Seigi and Tenchuu looked at Rin nervously as she told them to go inside. Their eyes slowly budged over to the door from which the weeping of the target came from. It was dark inside, and even the building itself seemed unstable.

The two suddenly realised they had a choice. Seeing as Rin was disobeying her orders by sending them in anyway, they could challenge her and stand on the sidelines as Yakuin commanded.

But then Seigi realised something. If they really were at a level so low they would resort to that action, make no wonder Yakuin always treated them like trash.

Maybe they were trash after all.

But... if they were trash how were they supposed to uphold justice?

"Screw it," Seigi spoke suddenly, stepping forward. "We ll go. You coming, Tenchuu?" He turned his head to face his partner, who believed that he was about to be the one to give up. Instead, he was the one encouraging the two to press on.

"Okay," was Tenchuu's simple reply. "You go first. If he attacks I'll have Earthen Maw ready."

*

Seigi crept through the building, nearly on his tip-toes. He always had one hand firmly rested on his zanpakuto. He slowly edged towards the weeping target, not speaking a single word. Although he could not lose the feeling that his presence had already been noticed.

* * *

**_Rin_**

The man's head shot up, eyeing the two Shinigami that were approaching him. Oh, they had thought that they could sneak up on him, that he wouldn t notice? Wrong, wrong. Soul Society sent the most stupid people. Haha. Oh! It had taken him a moment to realize it, but that meant that he had been found. They were going to catch him! No, they were going to try. It didn t mean they would succeed. No, no.

The man jumped to his feet with almost unnatural skill, pulling out his own Zanpakutou and pointing it towards the two before him, a big grin upon his face. He was lucky that they hadn t come earlier, he had no idea what he would have done in in that state.

He would kill these two first, then the one outside. Yes.

He charged at one of the Shinigami, kneeing them in the stomach before bringing his blade down towards their head.

_Easy, easy._

_

* * *

_

**Tenchuu**

As Seigi was kicked, he raised his katana broadside to absorb some of the impact, but he was still put away from the monstrosity. Tenchuu pounced from his location and stood next to his friend, and made an action he has hardly ever done drawn his own zanpakuto.

The gold of crescent-shaped guard glinted in the small light that seeped in through the windows of the complex, and the vibrant purple wrappings gave it a sense of beauty.

"You know, Tenchuu," Seigi said, not being able to help it but take a glimpse at the weapon he has only seen once or twice in his life. "With such a nice blade, I m surprised you don t use it more."

"Zanjutsu isn't my style, you know that," Tenchuu said, taking the sword in both hands and thinking of a method to take the target down. "He seems to have a good deal of Kidou knowledge, too, typical for a Ninth Divisioner."

Then, without warning, the Shinigami's Bakudou was activated, and the whole area went dark. The two could not even see their partners right next to them.

"Damnit," Seigi swore. "We're vulnerable, now. Watch it, Tenchuu."

Although the two noticed they were in danger, they had no idea of the threat that was about to present itself.

* * *

**_Rin_**

It was such an odd feeling, certainly not what he had thought he would feel as he plunged his blade through the heart of one of his enemies. He had expected joy, relief or perhaps even a little sadistic pleasure in the kill, but not this strange numb feeling around his throat. No, that wasn t a numb feeling. It was starting to hurt! Ow! No! It hurt so much! He gripped his neck, suddenly aware of the pain, then the numbness returned and his vision began to fade. That wasn t how it was meant to be, it must just be the effects, continuing. Yes, this was all horribly wrong.

Before he fell he caught a glimpse of his bloodstained hand.

_How strange._

*

The man slumped dead to the floor and Rin pulled her blade back out of his throat, splattering the walls behind her with his traitorous blood. There was no expression upon her face, though perhaps the faint hint of annoyance. This hadn t gone according to her plan at all; she hadn t wanted to step in. She enjoyed being a more experienced member of the Division, but she didn t want to be showing off, she didn t want to be showing people how to do the simple act of killing. They were supposed to have learned by doing it themselves, but they hadn t even managed to get through a few Kidou troubles.

She looked at the pair as the darkness of the man s Kidou wore off and sighed.

"He's dead now. Time to head back."

* * *

**_Tenchuu_**

Tenchuu and Seigi could not believe their eyes as the Ninth Divisioner fell to the floor, dead. Rin had acted so swiftly, so effortlessly, it made the two look like nuisances.

Tenchuu looked at Seigi with a distinct feel of anger about him. It was an anger only Seigi could detect, due to the two being such good friends. But the message was clear.

_We can't let her completely upstage us._

Seigi nodded. He had already come up with an idea.

"Wait," Rin-Sama, he said, dashing over to the deceased target. "We should investigate the body to see if we can determine the reason for his betrayal." Tenchuu was all too eager to play along.

"Yes, we were told it is standard procedure," He lied, smiling, dashing off to examine the dead Shinigami with his partner.

Seigi sat beside the Shinigami and rummaged through his clothing, hoping to find maybe some sort of letter or journal. Although he was insane, the ramblings of a madman can usually contain valuable information.

Then he felt his fingertips brush against something. A piece of folded parchment. Grabbing a hold of it, Seigi pulled it out of the pocket it was held inside and opened it. The parchment was extremely old. On it was what appeared to be a doodle, as it was poorly drawn. Most of the ink had faded over time. It featured a single Shinigami standing in front of a door with the Ninth Division insignia on. The Ninth barracks?

"What do you think of this?" Seigi asked Tenchuu, passing the picture to him. "What does it mean?" Tenchuu took the parchment and immediately spotted something.

"A classroom drawing?" He said to himself, putting the image close to his face so that it nearly touched his nose. "Looks like someone was daydreaming." He removed the parchment and looked down at the body of the target. "I bet the man here was him." That was when Seigi pieced it together.

"This was a doodle he did while in the Shinigami Academy," Seigi concluded, bringing his fist down onto his open hand. "I see, now! He dreamed of being in the Ninth before he even became a proper Shinigami." However, Tenchuu spotted one flaw.

"Then if he was so loyal and was in the perfect division for him, why did he betray them?" He asked, scratching the back on his head in confusion. Seigi pondered for a moment and placed his head in his hands. Why indeed? Why would someone so loyal suddenly revoke his oaths and lifestyle to go kill innocent people far away? Tenchuu searched through the man's clothes once more looking for other clues.

"Ah, ha! Got something," he exclaimed, taking out a small glass container that was only as big as his middle finger. Inside was a pink powder. "No no way. What the hell! This can't be right!"

Seigi recognised the substance as well, and was utterly shocked.

"How did a Shinigami get addicted to Kusemono's drug?!" He asked, his eyes wide and his face pale. "This makes no sense!" A sudden revelation came to his partner.

"This man is from the Research division of the Gotei Thirteen. Perhaps the Ninth were given this substance and were to study it. This man, being a new member could have accidently stepped out of procedure and somehow got himself addicted to it," he suggested. "In desperation for more he travelled to Rukongai and looked for dealers, only to find he had no money. He began killing off dealers." Seigi rose to his feet immediately, startled.

_It all fit! Kusemono was behind the whole thing, even if not deliberately!_

_

* * *

_

**Rin**

Rin frowned. These two were rather eager and easily pleased; it was almost awkward to watch.

She had never really bothered with target information, except for what was necessary. Beyond their face and their reputation and skills, she quite frankly didn t care. There was no need to make them seem any more real than the dummies she practiced against back at the Division. Not that she had any reason to feel guilt over killing someone anymore... Not know that she knew. But, even then, she had never thought about finding out _why_ she had to kill the people she did.

She didn t like thinking that way.

It was easier not to care unless told otherwise.

These two could babble on to her about their findings all they liked, but she wasn t the one to tell. If they wanted any credit for their findings, they could tell the higher ups or the guy, whose name she had forgotten, who had assigned them to this in the first place. Not her. She was quite content not caring.

"Save it for someone else," she told them, turning to leave, "I believe it's home time now."

* * *

**_Tenchuu_**

A vein in Tenchuu's forehead became visible as Rin spoke those words. He turned his head to look at her and was about to say something, but he found his partner shaking his head at him in the corner of his eye. He understood. She was too set in her ways.

"We better report this to Yakuin when we get back so the Second can have it investigated," Tenchuu finally said, standing up. "If it affects Shinigami, this is going to get serious very quickly."

"By we, do you mean me?" Seigi asked with a sigh, clearly bemused. Tenchuu's response was a grin and a look of sincerity. "Fine, whatever, it usually is me. But I agree this needs taking care of. We'd better head back with Rin."

Nodding, Tenchuu took one last look at the corpse that lay before him as Seigi headed towards the exit. He was the first Shinigami casualty of Kusemono s evil.

_And he won't be the last._


	5. Chapter 5: Interrupted Training

_Dear Journal,_

_It s been a week since that bloody Rin took us out to that mission and showed us up. We ve felt weak and feeble ever since, like we are nothing. We began to think we were not worthy of carrying out the justice of the world._

_However, in between then and now, we ve been training rigorously. So much so we ve nearly completely exhausted each other. Tenchuu and I have sparred and fought like rivals, attempting to better our partnership, learn each other s abilities better, and even trying to outdo each other to reach new heights. I regret to say that nothing much came of it. We still feel as we did before like we will not amount to anything. We do not feel any stronger. We understand Yakuin may have a mission for us in a couple of days, once the Second has gathered a bit more information. Until then, we must work and train some more. Anything to become true heralds of justice._

_- Seigi_

One of the forests outside Rukongai now served a different purpose than just a scenic path to walk through. Two Shinigami had adopted it for their extreme training. As a result, a fair portion of the centre had been torn down from fierce fighting, despite the pair's efforts to keep collateral damage to a minimum.

"Soaring red dog, drink the balm of flame! Into his eyes leaps the dragon's spark! Hadou Seventeen, Dragon's Breath!"

Suddenly, several trees were engulfed in a raging inferno which incinerated their bark and left a blackened stand of charcoal where they had just been. A ragged man in dirtied black robes landed in front of them, panting and flustered.

"When did you learn that one?!" he asked, still breathing heavily. "That's cheating!" There was no reply. "Hiding are you? Fine."

The man charged off into the forest, wary of his surroundings and clutching his sword. It had the shape of a typical katana with dark green wrappings. The silver hilt would have had a circular shape, had it not been for the large circle-shaped indents in the shape, making it seem like a curved hourglass.

"Oi, Tenchuu, get your ass out here!" he shouted into the trees. Not very stealthy, however, he wanted to draw his partner towards him so he would be easier to find.

Seigi heard a rustling behind him and twisted around. He saw a miniscule spherical ball of light floated towards him from the trees. The Shinigami did not lower his guard. He had never seen this object before.

_What the..._

A large explosion suddenly took place blasting Seigi several meters backwards, and ripping his Shinigami Shihakusho into rags. He crashed with a large thud into a strong tree. Regaining his orientation he dashed into the cover of a nearby bush.

"What the hell was that?" he whispered to himself. I've never seen anything like that before.

"Its Hadou number thirty," said a voice behind him.

_Crap!_

Seigi swung around and aimed to crash his blade into his opponent, but he had disappeared just as quickly as he had arrived.

_Shoot... Why does he seem so much stronger than me? It's almost as if he's toying with me!_

Seigi shot out of the safety of the bush and continued through the trees. He needed to find somewhere narrow, somewhere he could engage Tenchuu in close quarters, and preferably before he badly injured him. But one question still eluded him. Where had his partner suddenly learned all these Kidou?

Seigi's salvation appeared ahead in the form of a large rock formation, filled with small cracks and passages. Perfect for an ambush. With haste, the Shinigami headed inside.

But would Tenchuu figure out his plan?

* * *

Tenchuu sat quiet and tense in a tree as he watched Seigi head into the rocks. He cursed quietly under his breath.

_I've used up just about all my energy firing off Kidou and dashing around,_ he thought. _But If I head into those rocks I m finished his martial art skills are a great deal better than my own. What to do..._

Tenchuu relaxed slightly and calmed his mind, studying the rocks and all entrances, exits, and the tiniest crack, noting areas where Seigi could be hiding.

_I've got no chance if I go anywhere near there. I wonder..._ the Shinigami's thoughts were cut off as something heavy hit the branch he was on, snapping it and rendering him unconscious.

* * *

_What was that noise?_ Seigi thought as a loud crash was heard outside. _Surely Tenchuu doesn't have enough energy to fire off another Kidou? And why would he fire it so far away from where I am?_

Seigi tightened his grip on his zanpakuto and began to edge out of the crack he was hidden in.

_No, wait. He _wants_ me to head out. Well I m not falling for it._

Seigi retreated once more into the rocks and awaited the arrival of his partner, anticipating it even more with every minute that passed. Several minutes after the crash however, and no one still came. Seigi was beginning to ponder on what was going on outside.

_Knowing him he would have gained enough power to flush me out of here with that Dragon s Breath again. Why hasn t he done anything yet? This is very suspicious._

Deciding to investigate, Seigi once more crept out of the crack. Although feeling he was about to regret this decision, he stepped out of the outcrop, his sword raised in case he was suddenly attacked. He walked through the trees for a minute.

But no attack came.

_This is getting troubling now,_ Seigi thought, his mind now worrying about the earlier explosion. _What could that have been?_

Using his instincts, the Shinigami jumped up onto the branches of the trees and peered out of the leaves over the top of the canopy. He saw it. A trail of smoke.

_Gotcha._

He dived downwards, zanpakuto at the readied, and hurried towards the source of the smoke and hopefully the previous explosion.

* * *

Tenchuu awoke with a start. His vision was blurred, and his ears ringed.

_Where am I?_

He tried to move his arms, but he could not. Beginning to get suspicious, he tried moving his legs as well. No result. Shaking his head to snap out of whatever stupor he was in, he looked down at his body.

He was wrapped up in some kind of silky material.

_A... spider web?_

His thoughts were once more interrupted. This time by the arrival of his assailant an arachnid-shaped creature with a white mask. A Hollow.

_Crap I got caught off guard by a Hollow?_ Tenchuu asked himself as the fiend begin to scuttle its way over to its web, having noticed he was awake. _Damn! I'm in big trouble, now!_

Something, however, caught Tenchuu s attention in the corner of his eye. A man in black rags, hidden amongst the trees.

_Seigi! He's here! He better be careful, this Hollow seems to have a few secrets up its sleeve._

* * *

Seigi crept forwards through the tree, observing the creature that had wrapped up his friend in its web.

_Shoot I guess I should have come out sooner. I was too damn stubborn. But that doesn't matter right now. I got to get Tenchuu out of there. What to do..._ He studied the Hollow for a moment and remembered the explosion. _I'm guessing it can fire explosive projectiles. I'd better get closer to it then first if I want to take it down. A ranged fight could turn out messy._

Once he was certain the Hollow was looking the other way, Seigi stepped out of the veil of the leaves and hopped off the branch. However, a spherical white object shot towards him from the direction of the Hollow.

_Crap! It knew I was here?!_

The object missed him by mere inches and soared into the tree behind him, ripping off its top half from the trunk. It seemed the attack had come from the abdomen. Gulping, Seigi landed on the tree, but did not stop for cover. He continued to run through the tree, and made another jump towards another tree.

"Seigi!" Tenchuu shouted suddenly, gritting his teeth. "Hang in there!" Seigi was met by more fire from the Hollow, which he had no choice but to dodge if he blocked it he'd surely sustain injury from the resulting explosion.

"That's what I should be saying to _you_, dumbass!" Seigi replied to Tenchuu, grinning. Finally he was in range to jump onto the beast and tackle it. Springing from the tree, Seigi was flying through the space between the Hollow and the tree he had just left, closing the distance.

"You're mine!" He shouted to boost his own morale. He landed on the tree branch above the Hollow and jumped down. Suddenly he was greeted by flailing legs. Seemingly the creature had very flexible joints and could use its own limbs to reach its back.

_Very handy for itching,_ Seigi thought to himself to keep his calm, grinning. He pushed his sword through the first leg that attacked him, slicing clean through it. However he had no time to block the second attack with his zanpakuto and help up his arm instead. It seemed the bottom of the leg was sharp, as he felt it cut a large gash into his arm.

"Seigi!" Tenchuu cried. It was easy to see him struggling against his bonds. "Damnit!"

"It's okay, Tenchuu!" The Shinigami replied. "I'll get him!"

All at once the Hollow stabbed Seigi s location with its remaining appendages, leaving him no choice but to jump upwards and grab hold of a higher branch. Due to the poorly coordinated attack, the fiend ended up stabbing its legs together, sticking them together and causing it great pain. Without its legs it quickly lost balance in the tree and fell out, landing hard on the ground. Seigi heard its deafening Hollow roar. Hopping down from the tree Seigi walked up to the menace, twirling his sword in his hand.

"That was a challenge," he said as he raised his blade at the struggling Hollow. "Actually kind of fun." It was over very swiftly as Seigi planted his sword very firmly into the white mask of the fiend.

* * *

For hours afterwards, Tenchuu was tugging at bits of web that had gotten onto his clothes and skin, and much to his dismay, his hair.

"Damnit," he cursed. "What a pesky thing. Still, I'm glad you showed up. Another minute or so and I was very probably spider chow."

"It's okay," Seigi replied, smiling and laying on the ruffled grass. "I'm just glad that's over with. I think we ought to rest for now."

"Yeah," Tenchuu agreed, copying his partner and laying down.

Yet it was not to be, as a slight twinkle could be heard in the sky, followed by the arrival of a black butterfly.

"Oi, Seigu, Tenchuu, get back over to HQ! I got an urgent mission that I need you to take care of. NOW!" Boomed the voice of Yakuin from the Hell Butterfly. As quickly as it came, it fluttered off again, back home. Even the messenger creature seemed a little shaky after hearing the loud snappy voice of the Twelfth Officer.

"How come he always manages to get _your_ name right?" Seigi muttered in jealousy as he stared at his partner, exasperated. "Anyway, I guess we don't get to rest after all."

"An urgent mission? For us?" Tenchuu asked, bewildered. "But he's always given us crappy missions up to now. What's different?"

"No idea," Seigi said, struggling to get to his feet. "But don't expect much, he probably wants us to mop something up that got really dirty. That's what _he_ calls an emergency."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Tenchuu said, panting as he rose from the ground. "It better not be anything too strenuous, I don't think I'd manage it after today."

The two friends began to walk through the forest to its edges, and from there through the Districts of Rukongai to Seireitei. However, they were completely unaware of the scale of events that were taking place...


	6. Chapter 6: The Fortress of a Madman

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Ooooh, Coming towards the end of the first arc, now! Big finale time!

* * *

"Yakuin-sama, Shironehan Seigi reporting in," Seigi spoke, walking through into the office of his much loathed superior. He was soaked from the terrible rain outside. "You had an urgent matter for us."

"Yes, I did," replied Yakuin, who had been pacing his room in front of his black desk. He turned to face the Shinigami who had just entered, a look of tension on his face. "We've got a little bit of a situation. A Rukongai official, who goes by the name Yutaka, has gone missing from the Tenth District. A few days after his disappearance, Seireitei was sent a message saying he was being held for ransom." Yakuin walked back behind his desk and took his usual place on his chair. "I can't remember how much the captor asked for, but it was something pretty damn big." A sudden thought struck Seigi.

_This seems like a very important task, whatever it is. It could have easily been given to another, higher ranked Twelfth member. Yakuin isn't talking to me like trash either. What's going on?_

"Now, obviously we aren't gonna go give him the money, but he doesn't know that yet – he seems a bit… naïve," Yakuin continued, reaching into his drawer and pulling out some papers. "The Second did a bit of recon. Turns out the captor's a Seventh Divisioner, and not just any Seventh – one with a sparkling clean record." Seigi's eyes widened instantly at this piece of information.

"A… a clean record, Sir?" He repeated. "Is he…"

"Insane?" he interrupted, finishing Seigi's sentence. "Yeah. Looks like you've already guessed why he's suddenly turned." Seigi nodded weakly in agreement.

"It looks like he's…"

"Yes, I know what's happened, idiot, no need to tell me," Yakuin snapped suddenly. Seigi's eye twitched. Maybe Yakuin's opinion of Seigi hadn't changed after all. "I didn't drag you here from the bloody outskirts of Rukongai just to have something I already know confirmed. Anyway, his name is Hakkyou, and it seems he's gone and promised some gullible morons a portion of the ransom, and gotten a few gangs involved. Usually this could be handled by the Third, or the Eleventh. However, the Gotei wants him gone, fast, and preferably without a huge ruckus. We figure once the leader is gone, the gangs will go back to their normal ways and quickly forget about the idiot. You got all that?"

Seigi nodded and bowed in another false sign of respect.

"Yes, Sir," he said.

"Good, now your mission," Yakuin began. "You are to capture Hakkyou and hold him until the Fourth recovers Yutaka, and the Seventh arrests Hakkyou for interrogation – they need to learn more about this 'Kusemono' guy. You'll find he is in a heavily guarded building in the Eighteenth District, so it should be easy to spot. You've been chosen because you've already had some experience with dealing with this situation. Time to see if you've learnt anything helpful for once." Seigi simply ignored the remark, as he was now used to doing. That in itself was helpful to have learned. He nodded once more and turned to leave.

"Oh, and Seigu?" Yakuin said in a slightly higher tone. Seigi looked over his shoulder back at his superior. "Firstly, turn around to face me, I'm not a bloody piece of trash."

_Could have fooled me,_ Seigi thought to himself, smiling in his head.

"Second, although it really annoys me to have to say this, if you pull this off you might gain a bit of my trust," admitted the usually cold, bitter man. "Don't start congratulating, though." Just those words were enough to make Seigi jump up and down inside.

"I won't, Sir," he said, exiting the room.

* * *

"You're serious, another Kusemono case?" Tenchuu asked as he and Seigi dashed through the rain towards one of the Seireitei gate.

"Yeah," Seigi confirmed. "It looks like he got a hold of the drug, like the Ninth guy did, got hooked, and wanted more. My guess is he wants the ransom money so he can go buy a load off of Kusemono."

"I see," Tenchuu said, anxious. "But there's a few things that trouble me. [I]How[/I] did he get a hold of it? Fair enough if the Ninth guy was researching, because that's what they do, but Hakkyou wouldn't really have come into contact with it. Also, the Seventh are the Division for justice, or something like that, so it would take some serious screwing with his head to turn a Divisioner from a place like that." Seigi nodded in response.

"Yeah, I think you're right there," he agreed, now becoming more nervous. "I have a feeling something really bad's going on in the background of all this."

The pair pushed on through the downpour, hoping to get to their location quickly so they could scout the area while it was still light, and then strike at dark.

* * *

Yutaka sat in a dark place. He saw nothing. His blindfold had been tied on tight. He said nothing. It would mean torture. He heard the rain above. So relaxing, it helped him find solace in his grim situation. Yet he was not frightened. He was a hardened politician.

"Ya been quiet fer a while, now," said the voice of his captor, whose face he had yet to see. He shuddered at the slack, mad tone of his words. "Whatcha thinkin' about?" Did he just ask Yutaka a question? One to answer? He'd been made to be quiet for so long.

"I was… just listening to the rain, Sir," he said with as much fake politeness and sincerity as possible. This response was met by the mocking laughter of the captor.

"Listenin' to the rain?" He asked, still laughing. "Honestly, yer such a wuss, ain't ya? Ya didn' even really put up much of a fight before." Yutaka made no reply, and the captor fell silent. Had he forgotten he was there? It would not surprise him, he did seem very unstable. "I'd betta get that money soon, or I swear I'll tear this whole stupid village down. I need some more of that stuff… now." Yutaka knew not what he referred to, but opted not to ask.

* * *

Tenchuu was crouched on the roof of a tall temple in the Eighteenth District at sunset, watching two men with swords stood outside a building.

_Subtle,_ Tenchuu thought sarcastically, jumping backwards off the building and dashing off. _That makes three buildings I've seen with guards outside. Are some of them decoys?_ He travelled along the rooftops of the District, attempting to avoid the gaze of the citizens below.

Eventually he came to another particularly tall building, gathered a small amount of reiatsu in his legs, and pounced. He landed on top, where his partner was already waiting.

"I found three places with guards outside," he said, panting and kneeling on the floor.

"Yeah, I found two as well," Seigi replied, sighing. "We'll pick the largest building to strike, as it's most likely the one where Hakkyou and Yutaka are, being the one with the most room."

"Yeah," Tenchuu agreed. "Let's give it a couple of hours before we have full darkness, then we'll move."

* * *

"Oi, what do you think of this Hakkyou guy anyway," Goei asked his friend. They had been stationed outside the main complex for hours. "I'm not really sure the boss can trust him."

"Yeah, I have doubts too," Bannin replied, tapping the pommel of his sword. "I ain't seen any action for a bit. I'm beginning to wonder if anyone's gonna try and rescue that official guy. Maybe they _will_ cough up after all."

"Probably not, you know what those Gotei bastards are like," Goei told him. "They aren't gonna do anything to damage their pride. They'd sooner let this guy rot."

"Yeah, I suppose. I…"

The two were interrupted by a sudden explosion behind the building directly opposite where they were stationed. The shock had caused them to fall flat on their backs. The two struggled to get up quickly and drew their swords, ready to fight.

"What the hell was that?!" Goei asked, frightened.

"Sorry, it was me," said a voice from behind.

* * *

As the two guards collapsed, Tenchuu and Seigi dragged the two bodies out of sight and then hurried to the side of the front doors. They opened seconds later, and an entire squad of bustling bruisers charged out. Tenchuu smiled.

_Perfect._

As soon as the last person went outside, the two Shinigami nodded to each other and dashed into the complex.

They immediately searched for cover in the shadows on the room, pressing on in the now deserter room. It was incredibly spacious, almost like a disused warehouse.

_Very cliché,_ Tenchuu thought to himself as he crept into the darkest corner of the room. Seigi was now out of sight, probably looking for Hakkyou or Yutaka in the various rooms on the sides of the open area. Tenchuu jumped up onto the higher level walkway and sneaked along it.

Several minutes passed, and one by one the guards returned their posts, worn out. Seigi and Tenchuu were already deep within the complex by then, undetected.

Tenchuu walked inside another blank room, one with bare walls and exposed wooden floorings. He did a quick examination of the room before concluding it unsuspicious.

_This is getting annoying,_ he thought, moving slowly to the exit. _I wonder if Seigi found…_

His trail of thought was cut off as he felt his body fall through some weak floorboards in the ground... a trap?!

* * *

Seigi continued to examine the area. The concentration of guards was beginning to thicken, and his movement becoming more restricted by the minute. He had to resort to knocking out several more as he made his way through, looking for more clues as to the whereabouts of the captor and his captive. His hope was beginning to slide.

_I'm really not thinking this is going to turn out any results. I wonder how Tenchuu is doing?_

Out of lack of concentration, Seigi had forgotten to check the room for traps, and suddenly tripped up over a thin wire.

_SHIT!!_ He thought as he collided with the floor.

* * *

The Shinigami awoke to the sound of quiet chuckling. He could not see anything – he was blindfolded. His hands were also bound behind his back. This was it. The mission had failed.

"So, looks like the Gotei _did_ send someone after all, eh?" Mused a slack voice. Was this Hakkyou?

"Yeah, they did, you bastard," Tenchuu snapped back, struggling against his restraints. He suddenly felt a heavy blow to the back of the head, and he felt his head pushed to the ground.

"Please, Shinigami, don't anger him," said a voice a meter or so away. Tenchuu guessed it was Yutaka. Although he felt there was something a little off about his tone, he followed his advice and stayed quiet.

"Ya know, talkin' like that'll get ya nowhere," said Hakkyou again. "Unbind him."

"What?!" Asked the man who had pushed Tenchuu down. "You wanna set him free, boss?"

"Oh, screw it, I'll do it myself, then!" Shouted Tenchuu's captor. A pained shout was heard as the person behind Tenchuu was slaughtered. Tenchuu winced.

_Is this how far the drug pushes people?_

He felt the binds on his hands loosen and was suddenly thrust across the room, where he stumbled onto the floor. Tenchuu felt disoriented and nauseated. Weakly moving his hands to his face he removed the blindfold and saw his captor for the first time.

"Nice to meetcha," He cackled. He had the wide eyes of a madman, with bags and scruffy, dirty hair to match. His Shinigami robes were dishevelled. "I'm Hakkyou. Here to kill me, are you? Well you can have a good go before I finish ya! Yer sword's over there." He pointed to the corner where he had discarded Tenchuu's zanpakuto. The Shinigami struggled to his feet dizzily and picked up the weapon, drawing it immediately. He studied his surroundings for a moment. It was a very large square room with a single door in the distance, several lights, and lots of room to fight.

"You piece of shit…" Tenchuu cursed quietly, swaying. Did he have concussion? He heard Hakkyou growl and vaguely saw his shape grow closer. Instinctually Tenchuu held his zanpakuto horizontally, anticipating the angered foe would attempt a powerful downwards motion.

The two swords collided, Shinigami against Shinigami, as Tenchuu's guess had been correct.

"You have the nerve to call me that when yer in this mess?!" Hakkyou shouted. Tenchuu suddenly felt the force of a kick on his stomach. He had not anticipated a follow-up attack. He staggered backwards and fell on his back.

_I really am no match for this guy…_ Tenchuu thought to himself. _And if Seigi was going to come he'd have done it by now… I've never been in a mess like this before… what do I do?_

The downed Tenchuu had just enough time to see the crazed rebel charge towards him once more before he blacked out.

* * *

The meadow had a very surreal atmosphere about it. Trees of gold stood tall, conquering the vast silvery fields of grass, which swayed slowly in the breeze. The lilac sky was cloudless, and the sun shone down upon Tenchuu.

"Where am I?" He asked himself, staring at the beautiful place in wonder.

"That does not matter now," said a woman's voice a few metres behind him. Wheeling around, Tenchuu clapped his eyes not on a lady, but a wolf – the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Its fur was a magnificent silver just like the grass, and Tenchuu could clearly make out all the detail in its glimmering yellow eyes. "You cannot win alone. Your opponent has the upper hand in nearly every way."

The words of the wolf made sense, and Tenchuu slowly nodded.

"Yes," he agreed, panic shown very clearly on his face. "What should I do? I can't wait much longer for Seigi to come and help."

"What if he does not?" The wolf replied. Tenchuu had no answer. "You will die at the hands of this criminal, and his hostage will most likely be murdered. You must win by yourself." The now desperate man fell to his knees.

"What can I do?" He asked, staring up at the sky. Lilac was his favourite colour. "I… I'm going to die." There was silence for a moment, and the only sounds to be heard were the sobs of the lost man.

"If you believe that, then I am powerless," said the wolf, turning her back on the despaired Shinigami and beginning to walk away, her shining brilliance fading. The meadow seemed to become gloomy, less colourful. "You must be ready to fight and win if I am to help you. You are no warrior of justice as you are now, in a heap on the ground."

Those last words raked at Tenchuu's heart. He immediately stopped crying and stared at his drenched hands.

"_Are_ you a warrior of justice, Tenchuu?" the wolf asked, peering back over her shoulder. The man slowly rose from his pathetic state and stood in the fields, his head once more looking up at the purple sky.

"Yes," was his simple answer. "I am. I must win this fight to continue my service to the world. If I die here I am a name on a grave lost amongst many others. I cannot die. I must win."

"Then come, Shinigami," Said the creature softly. "Wield me. You know my name."

* * *

**"Scratch and scar… SHIRUBA!"**


	7. Filler Chapter 1: A Curious Old Man

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Figured I'd do something a little non-canon to the storyline to stall and make you guys wait for the conclusion of the cliffhanger... MWAHAHA!

* * *

"Seigu!" Yakuin shouted haughtily, much to the Seigi's annoyance. "Today's the day you and that friend of yours become men!"

_Oh, great, what are we gonna do, scrub toilets?_ Seigi thought to himself. He managed to keep a straight face, a technique he'd perfected in his time in the Twelfth.

"There's a man in the Eleventh District who quite frankly is a little bit of a quack," the superior officer explained, pulling out some papers from the drawer and handing them to Seigi. One looked like blueprints for some sort of machine, with a specific location marked on it. Another of them was a photo. He appeared aged and had short grey hair. Most notable of his features was the stereotypical white coat he was wearing.

"A mad scientist, basically?" Seigi asked, looking bemused.

"A mad scientist?!" Yakuin repeated, spitting over the desk as he spoke and very narrowly missing Seigi's shihakushou. "What kind of world are _you_ living in?! Mad scientist… Jesus Christ…" The officer shook his head so as to compose himself before continuing. "Anyway, his name is Ukawatta Ippu. He's a curious idiot who invested in spirit particle research. No one thought it dangerous, as the villagers seem to find him a bit of a laugh. They think of him as the village eccentric. Oddly he's pretty much love by the villagers as a funny old man. However, intelligence from Rukongai has found that he's somehow gone and made some kind of device that sucks in spirit particles are a disastrous rate. Ukawatta himself is not aware of the effects of the device, as he has not tested it. You see after growing worries the device's blueprints were copied by the Second and analysed by the Ninth, and they noticed it as a side-effect."

"So, what do I do?" Seigi asked, beginning to get impatient from the long-winded explanation.

"I'm getting to that!" Snapped Yakuin, spitting once more. Seigi had to take a subtle step backwards to stay out of the trajectory. "You're supposed to stop him. However, if it is uncovered by Rukongai by we killed him; it'd look very bad, because to the villagers he's a loveable elderly person. At the very least a little bit of trust for the Gotei will be lost. So we're going to make it look like an accident." Seigi sighed to himself.

"Why not just confiscate the device, Sir?" He asked. However he would very quickly regret saying it. Yakuin instantly turned a nasty shade of scarlet.

"ARE YOU QUESTIONING YOUR ASSIGNMENT, YOU PIECE OF SHIT?!" He cursed. His spit finally managed to reach Seigi's robes, and the Shinigami backed up. "SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAIN AND I'LL HAVE YOU HUNTED DOWN! ARE WE CLEAR?!"

"Yes, Sir!" Seigi recited, standing as straight and presentable as possible. He actually felt himself trembling.

"GOOD!" Barked Yakuin. "Your job is to go and attach an explosive I'm going to give you to the device in the specific place marked on the blueprints I've given you so that when it activates the whole device explodes, taking out Ukawatta and making it look like he was killed by a machine overload. _We can't_ just confiscate it because he could make something equally as dangerous another time. Is that good enough for you, Mister-Freakin'-High-and-Mighty?" Slightly shaken up, Seigi nodded stiffly. "Good, now get the hell out of my sight, and don't you _dare_ come back until the explosives are attached."

Seigi nodded again, turned around, and proceeded to the exit. He may have found how to keep a straight face, but he really needed to learn to keep his mouth shut.

* * *

"So kill off an old guy, eh?" Tenchuu said, scratching the back of his head. "Man, that's pretty damned harsh."

"Yeah," Seigi agreed. "I see why he said this is the day we become men. We'll need really cold hearts to carry this out."

The two stood in the Twelfth Division grounds for a moment, pondering whether this mission was just or not. The awkward silence was only broken by the chirping of birds in the nearby trees.

"There must be something they aren't telling us," Tenchuu finally said, his expression stern and serious.

"Well we can't back out now, this has to be just or we wouldn't have been given this mission," Seigi concluded, stretching in the sun. "Come on. There's a reason we've got to do this."

"Yeah, I suppose," Tenchuu said, shrugging and turning to the gates. "Let's go."

* * *

The sun shined down on the small Oishii Ramen Bar. A lonesome elderly man was sat on a comfortable stool, slurping away at his Ramen.

"So how you been lately, Ippu-San?" Asked the owner as he scrubbed one of his dishes with a cloth. "We haven't seen much of you recently."

"Ah, well, I've been very busy," said Ukawatta, putting his bowl down. "I'm working on a new thing, and it's been going pretty good!"

"Oh, really?" the owner said. He smiled at the old man. "What's this one do?"

"Ah, well that's the fun of it!" Ukawatta said, grinny widely, exposing his near-toothless mouth. "You throw some features together and see what the end result'll be!" The owner sighed.

"You know if you keep doing that you'll end up making something dangerous and kill yourself," he told the old man, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

"Don't worry! I'm very careful in my calculations!" Replied Ukawatta, winking at the owner. "Anyway! I'd best be off! It's just about ready. A few more adjustments and it'll be all set!"

"Okay, just watch out, you know? We all care about you," said the Owner.

"I shall!" Ukawakka said, smiling. He got off his stool, left some money on the counter, and left the hut.

* * *

Tenchuu and Seigi jumped onto a rooftop near the designated address and scanned it for ways in. There weren't many security measures – there were many windows and a single front door, which probably had a typical household lock. Easily taken care of.

"Our only problem is that we need to find where this guy is before we sneak in," Seigi said, panting. He had a heavy backback strapped to him, which contained blueprints and explosives. "It's not very good if we waltz in and he sees us."

"Yeah," Tenchuu agreed. He noticed something in the corner of his eye. "Here he comes." The two lay on the roof as their target drew closer. "Looks like he'd gone out for a stroll."

The man took a key out of his pocket as he approached his home and unlocked the door with it, entering the house.

"Let's get a closer look," Seigi suggested, jumping down from the rooftop into the quiet street, where he knelt below the window just enough to see into the room inside.

The room looked much like a garage, dust everywhere and tools and parts strewn everywhere. Ukawakka seemed to know his way around, however, as he made his way to a machine half his height and began examining it.

"Looks like we found it," Seigi concluded. "We ought to wait until late night, so he goes to sleep."

"Yeah, sounds good," Tenchuu replied. The two retreated back onto the rooftop and waited.

* * *

Many hours passed as the two sat and slept on the roof of the building next to Ukawatta's house, waiting for the night to come. They had a long time to think, and come eleven o'clock the burden of guilt was beginning to feel heavy.

"Hey, Seigi, are you _sure_ that they're just with this?" Tenchuu asked as hey lay on the stone. "I'm not quite so sure, anymore. I mean what reason could there be for being so harsh on him? Couldn't he just be _told_ not to do it again?"

"I don't know, Tenchuu," Seigi replied, rubbing his head. "I just don't know. But there is definitely a reason for this, so keep telling yourself that." He stretched his arms out and stood up. "I'm going to check if he's gone to bed yet." Making sure there were no people in the street, Seigi dropped down onto the ground and peeped inside the building. "I don't believe it. He's _still_ working."

"You don't think he's going to do an all-nighter do you?" Tenchuu asked. He frowned and looked up at the moon. "What do we do?"

"Looks like we need him out of the house," Seigi told him as he walked away from the window. "I have an idea."

* * *

Ukawatta searched through his toolbox looking for a specific-size screwdriver. He was so close to finishing the device he could not afford any other than perfection in his work. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Eh? Who could it be at this late hour?" He pondered to himself, making his way to the door. "Better not be those kids again." He placed his hand on the doorknob and pulled.

"Hello, Sir!" Said a man in a suit. He was quite tall and sported long, black hair. "I was just wondering if I could have a quick chat…"

"No, thank you," Ukawatta replied swiftly. "I'm really not interested in buying anything."

"Huh?" the man replied. "I think you misunderstand me! It'll only take a moment. Step outside if you will, please." Ukawatta frowned at him and obliged.

"Alright, make it quick."

* * *

Once Tenchuu had lured Ukawatta away from the door and made sure he had his back turned, Seigi crept around from the side of the house and slipped inside.

_I better be quick, I probably only have a minute._

Seigi dashed quietly over to the machine and reached inside his backpack, opening the explosives and blueprints. He took a few screwdrivers and prepared to take a specific panel off to device.

_I hope Tenchuu can keep him busy._

* * *

"So, what're you doing again?" asked Ukawatta, clearly becoming irritated by his facial expression. "Some kind of survey?"

"Yeah, of sorts," Tenchuu lied, smiling awkwardly. "What do you think of the services here in the District?"

"Services?" Ukawatta repeated. "What services? What are you talking about?"

"You know, cleanliness, peace, all those kinds of things!" Tenchuu replied.

_I'm not sure how long I can hold him. Hurry up, Seigi!_

"I've never been asked about any of that before," said Ukawatta. "Why would the District suddenly decide to send a survey out?"

"Well, you know," Tenchuu began, trying hard to think of excuses. "Change of system?"

"I'm afraid I don't believe you, good Sir," said Ukwatta, who huffed and turned back to his house. "And quite frankly you're wasting my time."

_Shit! What do I do?!_

"You're right," Tenchuu said, screwing his eyes tight shut from the tension. "I'm not carrying out a survey." The old man stopped and twisted his head to look over his shoulder.

"Well what _are_ you doing, then?" He asked sharply. "Come on! Out with it!"

"I'm… distracting you," Tenchuu replied, finding it hard to keep a straight face. The pressure was growing on him.

"What?!" cried the elderly person, turning back to his house. "From what?!"

"Someone's making a hole in your wall round the back of your house," Tenchuu lied, the strain showing on his face. However, this was good. It might have appeared as if he was straining to betray his imaginary cohort.

"They what?!" Ukawatta shouted, rushing down the side of his house.

_You don't have long before he finds out I'm lying! Hurry, Seigi!_

* * *

_There! That'll do it!_ Seigi thought as he packed the blueprints away and put the screwdrivers where they were before. _Time to go!_

The death god rushed out through the room and peered round the side of the door. Tenchuu was stood a few metres away, looking stressed and pointing at the roof. There was no sign of Ukawatta. Seigi nodded. He charged out of the house and jumped onto the rooftop, laying down flat on his stomach.

Tenchuu followed swiftly, and just in time. Ukawatta reappeared from behind his house, fuming.

"Bloody prankster! Does he have nothing better to do?!" He muttered angrily to himself. "Wait until I get the authorities involved!"

The two Shinigami waited for the old man to enter his house and close the door before sitting upright.

"Wow, we pulled it off," said Seigi, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Yeah," Tenchuu agreed as he breathed heavily. "I guess we better go and… leave the old man to his fate, huh?" Seigi took a handful of hair in his hand and groaned.

"Please don't say it like that," Seigi said as he rose from the ground. "You're going to make me feel guiltier."

"Sorry, man," Tenchuu replied, looking down at the house. "I still don't agree with this."

"It's not our place to decide whether it's right or not," Seigi said, not looking at his partner. "Come on."

* * *

A few days later, the owner of the Oishii Ramen Bar sat on his stool behind the cashier with his head in his hands. A single tear fell down his face and dripped onto the table.

"Ippu-Jii..." He muttered quietly as he trembled. "Why..."


	8. Filler Chapter 2: Flexibility Remix

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Right, this chapter probably looks a little unorganised, long and dull. It's other one of those collabs you see, this time the others taking part are 'Code of the Noble' as Akimoto Senesati and 'You B Fragged' as Tyrone Sherman. The significance of this collab is that Tenchuu learns the Sentekiou ability and sets the scene for Seigi in a later chapter. Skippable, but it fills in some later blanks. Chapter after this is the return of the mainstream storyline... and the conclusion of Tenchuu's exciting battle.

* * *

**Akimoto Senesati**

The tea cup clanked against the floral saucer, steam rising from the matching cup. The noble grasped a document to his left, unfolded it and had begun to read it. _Let's see who signed up for the training. _he thought to himself. Three signatures were displayed on the aged document. Two of which were not easy to read. In fact, he could not make them out. It was rare that anyone from the Twelfth would put up enough energy to use a sign up sheet. Most of them would just show rather than give notice about coming to a training session.

Senesati waved to the festively dressed waitress. In return she bowed with curtsey and proceed to the table. "Yes?" she asked with a delighted smile.

"I would like the check please," he replied to the woman covered in a bright pink kimono, decorated with creme colored flowers.

"Sure thing," she softly replied, picking up the empty dishes.

Senesati tucked the document inside his uwagi as he watched the woman partially clean his table. The long haired shinigami wrapped his fingers onto the handle of the cup and took another sip of jasmine tea. He placed his elbows on the edge of the table and rested his chin on his hands. _Is it even worth it to show up on time?_ he questioned himself. _The only thing they show up on time for is if they are lining up to kill something. _he thought, his lips folded and eyebrows slightly raised.

"Here you are sir," said the waitress, sliding the bill on the table.

"Thank you," he replied reading the bill and digging for yen at the same time. _Well I guess I better get going. After all there were a few people who signed there names on the sheet. They might be new. I give them about four months and they will more than likely pick up bad habits like the rest of them. _he thought tossing several yen on the table and exiting the teashop.

_Back at the Twelfth..._

A single strand of hair fell in the center of his face. The nobleman crossed his eyes to spot the strand and blew it to the side. _Definitely time to get a touch up. If any of these students are late, I swear I will send them back and have them reschedule. _he said with irritation. The weather was humid and gloomy. The nobleman was not up for repeating himself if someone ran late. He was definitely in a rare mood. He crossed his arms, leaned against a wilted tree and released a sigh as he waited for the trainees.

* * *

**Tyrone Sherman**

Tyrone unwrapped the bloodied bandages and flexed his arm. "Much better, hopefully this kind of stuff won't happen anymore after I'm done training." He then proceeded to put dress himself with the usual ninja attire. Then he walked into the main room and stared at one corner of the room which contained a fire pit, a table, and some cupboards. "Might as well grab a quick snack, I could really use the energy. Er... Lets see... instant noodles, um, no don't want that either... There we go." The muscular man said as he grabbed a banana and quickly devoured it. "Alright, better get there quick, wouldn't want to be the last one there."

Tyrone arrived at the 12th division training grounds and spotted the nobleman leaning impatiently against a tree. "Good morning Sir Senesati." he said as he bowed.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Tenchuu and Seigi were still some distance away, charging through Seireitei to meet Senesati on time. It seemed they had just come from Rukongai.

"As if we actually got an _invitation_ to learn something!" Seigi said, grinning and brimming with energy. He looked at Tenchuu as he ran. "They must be finally realising our potential."

"Yeah," Tenchuu agreed. He kept his eyes ahead, looking for shortcuts. "Let's go over this wall." The two jumped up and grabbed the top of the wall, pulling themselves over. "There it is!"

In front of them was the gate for the Twelfth Division grounds. The sight always managed to relieve them after a long day, no matter how harsh. This was home.

"Let's get inside!" Tenchuu said, dashing through the gates in a rush.

"Oi! Wait for me!" cried Seigi, who had been staring at the sky. A few seconds later Tenchuu arrived in between two other people. He guessed that the one leaning against the tree was Akimoto Senesati, Twelfth's Fourth Seat. The Shinigami stared in awe and bowed.

"Nice to meet you, Sir," He said to Senesati. "I'm Kuromeiun Tenchuu, here as you requested." Seigi appeared beside him, bent over, hands on his knees, and panting heavily.

"So much for waiting up for me!" He said to his partner. This was met by a look of embarrassment from Tenchuu. "What?" Seigi turned his head forward.

_Oh… shoot._

He immediately stood up straight and bowed, going red in the face.

"I am Shironehan Seigi, Sir!" Seigi reported.

* * *

**Akimoto Senesati**

The nobleman frowned with his arms folded as he looked at the last to arrive. "You are Segi," he said, tucking his hand inside his uwagi and pulling out the sign up sheet he reviewed earlier. "And you two should print your names from here on out," he said looking to Tenchu and Tyrone. The nobleman paced back and forth as the three men stood before him.

_Oh the irony..._chuckled Ouritsu Tatsujin._Once the pupil, is now the instructor._

_In order to teach you have to learn the technique._ Senesati snapped back.

_My so snippy today. If you dont like this as the training ground you can always take them somewhere else you know._

Senesati's eyes instantly widened with his back turned to the students. "You three follow me," he had begun as he headed for the font gate, "we will go somewhere a little more pleasant," he concluded, his heavy hair swaying back and forth across his back.

* * *

**Tyrone Sherman**

Tyrone observed the two men that had just arrived. They both seemed energetic and excited to begin training, especially the first guy. Although the second seemed slightly nervous.

_Oops..._ he thought to himself in embarrassment when the nobleman addressed his sloppy signature, _guess I shouldn't have signed it in such a hurry. Least I wasn't the only one..._

Tyrone noticed that the nobleman seemed slightly angry and was staring off into space for a moment. He was just about to say something when the nobleman turned around and told the three of them to follow him.

Tyrone started to follow him before turning his attention to the two men walking beside him,"Hello, my name is Sherman, Tyrone."

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Tenchuu and Seigi sighed at the misuse of their names.

_He reminds me of Yakuin,_ Seigi thought, a sweat drop falling down his face and rubbing the back of his head in annoyance. Tenchuu then noticed his signature on the sign-up sheet.

"Oh," he said simply. He frowned and looked at Seigi. "Why did you have to write yours so neat?"

"Just because you're a goofball doesn't mean I need to be," Seigi replied, another sweat drop adding to his face. When Tatsujin spoke the two looked towards him and started to walk at his pace.

"A more pleasant place?" Tenchuu muttered. When Tyrone said his name, Tenchuu nodded. "Nice to meet you, man. I'm Kuromeiun Tenchuu. My friend is Shironehan Seigi."

"I can speak for myself, you know," Seigi told Tenchuu, another sweat drop adding to the miniature collection on his face.

* * *

**Akimoto Senesati**

"If you don't want the training, then turn back and go home," Senesati snapped at the shorter male that accompanied Tenchuu. His right hand slid down the sheath of his zanpakutou, unraveling the golden lace without much effort.

_Sene you are such a grump today. What's wrong?_asked Ouritsu Tatsujin.

_It's hot, sticky and my hair is flat._ he replied, wrapping Kizuko no Ito around his hair. _let's not forget that I do not care for back talk or questioning from a lower ranked officer._ he concluded, tossing his ponytail over his shoulder. His exposed back covered in sweat, sunlight reflected off the area creating a glazed look.

The nobleman looked to his left as he spotted the shaded area of trees just out side of the gates of the Twelfth. He pointed to the area covered with trees. "That is where we'll be training today."

* * *

**Tyrone Sherman**

Tyrone took note of his surroundings as they walked, just incase he would have to go to that area again. He was distracted for a moment when he saw some soul reapers training. He could barely keep up with their movements. "Amazing," he stared in awe as the soul reapers quickly exchanged blows and fired off kidou spells that he did not recognize.

It didn't take long to reach the "pleasant" area Senesati was talking about. Tyrone followed the nobleman's finger to a shady area that was rather abundant in tree's. _hmm nice spot_

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Both Seigi and Tenchuu gasped in shock and fell backwards onto their rears, eyes wide. The two breathed insanely heavy.

"I... wasn't expecting that," Seigi said, not taking his eyes from Senesati.

"Me neither," Tenchuu agreed. He regained his senses and got to his feet. "You'd better stop acting around, Seigi."

"Me?!" His friend snapped back. "But I-" He stopped suddenly, remembering Senesati's words. He sighed and turned back to face the other Shinigami. "Forget it." Slightly annoyed with each other, the two caught up with Tyrone and Senesati.

"So this is where we're going to train?" Tenchuu asked, looking up at the trees. "Heh, we've become experts at training in woodland area." Seigi cranked his head to look at Tenchuu, sweating.

_The idiot! If he acts arrogant we'll both be punished!_

* * *

**Akimoto Senesati**

The nobleman briefly looked back, raising an eyebrow to show an irritated acknowledgment to the comment made by Tenchuu's brown eyed comrade. A shadow overcast the nobleman as he entered the shaded area. Almost instantly he felt a bit of relief from the hot sticky weather outside the area.

Senesati continued on deeper into the shaded area crowed with umbrella topped trees. There was lots of space for practicing the technique. The area was covered in emerald shards of grass. The nobleman paused for a moment.

"Here we are. Take your places and pay attention. I will remind you that I am not one for repeating myself more than once. With that said let us begin the training. Before we begin, any of you have any experience with kidou?" he asked, scanning the faces of the students for a show of answers.

* * *

**Tyrone Sherman**

_They trained in a woodland area,_ he thought to himself without glancing at the young man who made that remark, _I'll keep that in mind if I ever have to go on a mission in the forest but I don't think that's gonna help much here._ Tyrone was relieved when he stepped into the shade, he wasn't exactly wearing the right type of clothing for a hot sunny day. The place was overflowing with tall tree's and the grass was a healthy green. He picked a spot with several small tree's crowded together and started to walk towards it before snapping to attention and turning his attention towards the nobleman.

"Yes sir, I was put in an advanced class when I was in the academy," Tyrone quickly responded to the nobleman's question.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Tenchuu and Seigi noticed Senesati's irrated look and smiled in a guilty fashion.

"Looks like you've annoyed him," Tenchuu muttered through gritted teeth, not taking his eyes off the superior officer. Seigi's head shot around to look at Tenchuu with venom, but he managed to restrain himself from commenting.

_Looks like Yakuin's actually teaching me something useful._

The two followed the others into the woods and felt relief as the hot day was left outside, and introduced the cool, much more suitable air for training.

"I do, Sir!" Tenchuu said, raising his hand in response to Senesati's question. "I can use four different types." Seigi looked down at his feet and sighed.

"I can't use it at all," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

* * *

**Akimoto Senesati**

"Well then _you_ had better pay close attention," said the nobleman, looking at Seigi. "Sentekiou, is nothing more than reiatsu redirection like that of kidou energy," The Fourth Seat punched his hands out in front of him; a pale blue aura emitted from his hands as he had begun to explain and provide a visual demonstration. The aura emitted around his non armor hand.

Senesati continued the explanation. "Instead of forcing out the spiritual energy you keep it within and then redirect it to the area the energy is needed most." With his armored hand he followed the path of his left arm to his chest then below his waist. The energy followed the path of his finger.

"For instance, you may redirect energy to your legs to help you move faster, to your arms to help you attack faster, with more perception, understanding or to provide the right edge to counter an incoming attack. And with a little practice...," the nobleman had begun performing a mini kata; he swung his hands around in the air, shifted his reiatsu randomly all over his body, "...your use of the technique will flow like water," he concluded his explanation.

Although the shaded area was chilled a few degrees, Senesati displayed a minor workout just for shifting his energy. Sweat slowly rolled from his forehead for demonstrating the technique. He paused briefly; the blue auras faded to nothing. "Now it's your turn," he concluded, spreading his hands as he turned the session over to the students.

* * *

**Tyrone Sherman**

Tyrone watched as the nobleman punched the air in front of him causing a pale blue aura to emit from his hand, which then followed his finger like a water and then, all over his body like a river. "Wow..." was all the stunned assassin could say. He quickly regained his senses and stared at his arm as he lifted it in front of him. _Like kidou huh..._ He began to let the energy flow to his arm as if he were about to fire a byakurai and punched the air in front of him. "Dammit!" he cursed under his breath as the energy exploded from his hand. He quickly shook his hand and prepared for another try despite the pain he now felt in his scorched knuckles, he wasn't about to give up any time soon.

_Alright, slowly this time. _The man closed his eyes and took a deep breath before slowly extending his arm and letting the energy flow gently through his arm to the tip of his finger, and then gathered it in his palm and, without breaking concentration, slowly opened his eyes to see the familiar glowing aura emit from his hand this time. He then tried letting the energy flow to his other arm. A bead of sweat ran down his face as he strained to push the energy across his chest and up his other arm where it finally rested in his left palm. Another deep breath and he put all his concentration into forcing the energy to flow down his torso and down his thigh before letting the energy rush down to his foot which now rested in a small dent which he had just carved into a nearby tree. _That was not a good idea, _he thought to himself as pain shot through his foot. He grunted as he lifted his foot out of the trunk and slowly let down, biting his lip when he finally set it on the ground. The assassin was drenched in sweat and was bent over, panting heavily from exhaustion. "Did I pass?"

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Tenchuu and Seigi stood in awe at Senesati's 'performance'. They were entranced at how he could so easily adapt to different situations.

"This is amazing!" Tenchuu said, grinning smugly. "Looks like this'll fix my close combat problems!" Seigi, on the other hand, bowed his head and sighed.

"Let me guess, you need pretty good reaitsu manipulation to use this, right?" He asked, looking up with a bemused expression. "Perfect." Tenchuu laughed at his friend.

"You'll just need more practice at it than me!" he said, patting his partner on his shoulder. Before Seigi could say anything in response, Tenchuu jumped backwards and began focusing.

_I usually summon the energy I use for Kidou into my hand. I wonder if I focus the same energy into my arms it'll make me stronger?_

Tenchuu closed his eyes and began to summon his reiatsu into his hands as per usual. He then attempted to think of ways in which he could channel it elsewhere. Seigi, in the meanwhile, sat down and tried to recall his old kidou classes.

"I swear there were some fundamentals in class," he said, racking his brains. "If only I could..."

"Got it!" Tenchuu shouted. Seigi twisted around to see the arms of his partner glowing purple. He ran over to the nearest tree and aimed a punch in the centre, which left a large impression in the bark. "Yes! A bit more practice and I bet I could do a lot more!" Seigi sat in his spot and stared at Tenchuu in envy.

_This is why I hate being bad at kidou,_ he thought.

* * *

**Akimoto Senesati**

Senesati watched the unseated members conjure and move their reiatsu. He remembered his training a if it were yesterday. This was one of those moments he looked back on and realized that Sayis and Wisteria were having fun with the training, despite Wisteria's mood for missing her tea that day. With the recollection of his training day, Senesati decided to conduct a little sparring session to see how well they could focus and most importantly: shift their reiatsu.

The nobleman looked to the Seigi, who seemed to be struggling with the technique. He rolled his eyes mindfully. "Seigi," he had begun, "concentrate, close your eyes, place yourself, unarmed, in a battlefield surrounded by enemies. Picture a weapon and reach for it mentally." As silly as it may have sounded this is exactly what he thought about when learning the technique, even though he did not voice it aloud. The weapon for the nobleman became that energy he needed to perform the technique.

"As for you two," he said, looking to Tyrone and Tenchuu. "You will take turns sparring against each other. First I would like to Tyrone use Sentekiou to overcome Tenchuu's hand to hand combat and then in the same fight, I would like to see Tenchuu use his energy to over power Tyrone's." The nobleman adjusted his ponytail as he looked to the two individuals. It was obvious to the nobleman as to who was stronger than the other.

"Seigi," he called in a monotone, "Seems like I will be your spar partner, once you are able to conjure the reiatsu that is," he concluded.

* * *

**Tyrone Sherman**

Once the nobleman finished speaking the assassin turned to face his opponent and dropped into a fighting stance. He felt his energy return to him at the excitement of getting the chance to use his new technique. He poured the energy down his arms and into his hands causing the energy to erupt from his palms which soon forced a dark blue aura to pulsate from his fists.

"At your ready."

**

* * *

****Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Seigi listened intently to Senesati's advice. His eye twitched slightly at the idea of having to mentally train himself.

"Oh boy," he sighed, closing his eyes and focusing.

_Why did I agree to this again?_

*

Meanwhile Tenchuu stood wide-eyed on the spot.

"Hand... to hand?" He asked, sweat drops sliding down his face. "Err... Okay?"

_Looks like this won't last long,_ He thought. _I really can't use Hakuda to save my life._

He walked over to Tyrone and spread his legs apart, holding his arms up and curling his hands into fists.

"Fine, whenever you're ready," he said.

_This is going to be embarassing._

*

Seigi sat meditating a few metres away from the commotion, trying to place himself in the desperate situation.

_What has the weapon got to do with it? What will wanting to reach for it achieve?_

* * *

**Tyrone Sherman**

"I said at your ready but if you don't want to go first. That's fine with me!" the assassin then launched himself in the air with a kick aimed at his opponent's head.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Tenchuu growled as Tyrone came closer.

_Great.  
_  
Instinctively he help up his left arm to block the shot, and attempted to make a counter of his own by moving to grab Tyrone's outstretched leg with his right hand.

* * *

**Tyrone Sherman**

With his other leg, Tyrone wrapped it around the man's neck and tried to do a back flip in an attempt to throw him to the ground.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

_Damn!  
_  
Tyrone's plan succeeded, and Tenchuu was sent into the ground.

"Argh!" He cried as he collided with the grass. He immediately shifted himself so he could scramble back up to his feet.

* * *

**Tyrone Sherman**

"Well that didn't work so well. How bout you come at me this time?" he said as he dropped back to his combat ready position.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

_Great, another opportune moment to embarrass myself.  
_  
"Fine," Tenchuu replied. He cracked his knuckles and dashed and Tyrone, aiming a punch to his stomach with his right fist.

* * *

**Tyrone Sherman**

Tyrone poured his energy down the length of his left arm and used it to re direct the punch away from him, he then proceeded to gather the energy in his biceps and pushed his fellow assassin back a little before finishing it off with a kick aimed for the man's gut.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Tenchuu shifted his weight to his right as his punch was redirected, dodging out of the way of Tyrone's attack.

_Guess it's my turn to use this new technique.  
_  
Tenchuu jumped away and focused for a moment, shifting his energy to his legs.

_I'm already fast as it is, so if I give myself even more speed he'll have a tough time trying to catch me and I might land a couple of hits!  
_  
Now that his legs were glowing in a purple aura he dashed forward with intense speed and ran around Tyrone in a circle for a moment. He then suddenly broke off from the circle and attacked Tyrone from his right side with a fist aimed at the head.

"Gotcha!" He shouted, grinning.

* * *

**Tyrone Sherman**

The punch lifted the assassin a few inches from the ground before he flew a short distance into a tree. He pulled the fabric that covered the lower half his face down just past his lips so he could spit out the blood that stained his teeth.

"Nice."

* * *

**Akimoto Senesati**

The nobleman watched the spar. Even though he sat under a shaded area, the air was still humid. With the current weather conditions Senesati got more and more impatient. He looked to the struggling individual who still could not conjure the energy to attempt to shift about. Senesati released a stale sigh.

A loose strand of hair fell in his face soaked by his sweat. The nobleman tucked it behind his ear. "That is enough," he said, both Tenchuu and Tyrone ceased their spar. The nobleman took a couple of steps back in the direction of which they came, the Twelfth division. "You both know the basics. Keep practicing the technique and it will benefit you as it has benefited me over the years," he stopped in his tracks, turned back and looked at Seigi. "Seigi we will continue this session another date. Something is obviously distracting your level of concentration. I am sorry, but I don't have all afternoon to cater to this session," he concluded as he walked back to the Twelfth.


	9. Chapter 7: The Silver Wolf

Out of lack of concentration, Seigi had forgotten to check the room he was searching in for traps, and suddenly tripped up over a thin wire.

_NO!!_ He thought as he collided with the floor.

"Hey! What was that?!" Shouted a guard from outside.

"The trap's been sprung! There's an intruder!" Another responded.

_Damn! What to do, what to do..._

A flood of men charged into the room to find Seigi up against the wall. He growled and began to panic.

_I can't kill them, they aren't the targets. Guess I'll just have to take them out without my zanpakuto._

Without warning two of the guards rushed out from the crowd to attack him with swords. They didn't seem co-ordinated, so Seigi didn't anticipate a synchronised strike. The two made horizontal slashes at Seigi, who jumped high into the air to avoid them. He outstretched his leg with sudden force and kicked the one on his right hand side in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him out cold. The other guard was stunned at the sudden disposal of his comrade. This gave Seigi enough time to give him a powerful punch to the chest. He could hear a bone crack as the guard was thrown to the ground next to the other victim of Seigi's martial arts abilities.

The other guards stared at the fallen men for a moment then looked up at Seigi, who smiled.

_Looks like this might be easy after all._

The guards quickly became angered and charged in, drawing their swords. Seigi analysed their formation for a moment. It was slack, they just blinding charged as a mass of muscle with swords. There were four on the front row.

_Perfect._

Once they got close enough to swing, Seigi ducked down and performed a sweep kick, knocking all of the poorly trained men off of their feet and making them tumble over forwards. Seigi rolled backwards from the men back up to the wall. As anticipated, the guards in the row behind also lost their footing as they tripped over the comrades who had just fallen at their feet. The row behind them stumbled forwards as well, creating a pile of idiocy. Seigi couldn't hold in a laugh as the men began to take out their frustration on the people above them, punching and kicking at each other and pushing dust up off the floor, creating a cloud. It made the scene look very much like a cartoon-style scrap.

Unexpectedly, the guards who had not even fallen over decided to join in, believing that the Shinigami was inside the mess and that their comrades had actually dogpiled onto him and started beating him up. What they found was that the situation was quite the contrary.

Struggling to contain his laughter, Seigi walked around the fight and sneaked out of the door while the guards continued to beat each other up on the ground.

_I have to tell that to Tenchuu... He'll laugh so hard... Speaking of which I wonder where he is?_

*

"Are you a warrior of justice, Tenchuu?" the wolf asked, peering back over her shoulder. The man slowly rose from his pathetic state and stood in the silver fields, his head once more looking up at the lilac sky.

"Yes," was his simple answer. "I am. I must win this fight to continue my service to the world. If I die here I am a name on a grave lost amongst many others. I cannot die. I must win."

"Then come, Shinigami," Said the creature softly. "Wield me. You know my name."

*

_You know my form..._  
_You know my power..._  
_You know my name..._  
_Say it._

**"Scratch and scar... SHIRUBA!"**

A sudden blast of light and reiatsu erupted from the doomed man, blinding the incoming assailant. He staggered backwards in shock and fell to one knee.

"W-what the..." He growled, attempting to stare into the silver light. "What did he just do?!"

"Hakkyou!" Shouted the strong voice of Tenchuu from inside the light. "By the order of the Gotei Thirteen, I'm here to kill you." This angered the criminal Shinigami further.

"SCREW YOU!" He cursed, charging blindly into the light and swinging for the silhouette of his enemy, afraid and enraged.

There was a sudden collision of metal and the light and reiatsu subsided. A veil of smoke covered and obscured the two fighters from the view of a surprised Yutaka.

_What's going on?_ He asked himself, eyes fixed on the position where Hakkyou had just attacked.

The smoke had cleared just enough to see the combatants. Hakkyou's zanpakuto had collided with a strange weapon that had materialised on Tenchuu's right hand. It appeared to be a set of three long, metal claws, attached to his hand with a black glove that had ribbons wrapped all the way up his arm over his Shihakushou. With a closer look Yutaka could see a similar weapon on his other hand, except there was a set of metal tendrils coming off of each of his five fingers attached to the black glove instead of claws.

"What the hell is this?" Hakkyou asked, snarling and brinding his zanpakuto on the weapon. "Your shikai?!"

"Yes," Tenchuu replied with a neutral expression and tone. He suddenly pushed his claws to the right, and Hakkyou's blade with it. "It must be." With incredible speed he slashed upwards at the open Shinigami with the tendrils on his left hand. Hakkyou tried to jump backwards from the attack, but still received a deep set of gashes on his chest. This seemingly angered the insane man further.

"You... you..." He murmured, failing to find his words. Out of hatred and blinding fury he charged again, unable to comprehend a strategy. His insanity had completely taken over his mind. "YOU!!!"

The vile being slashed downwards again at Tenchuu, who suddenly dodged out of the way with his quick speed, stopping behind Hakkyou and mercilessly thrusting the claws on his right hand into the criminal's spine.

The screech that followed was extremely blood curdling. Hakkyou's body became paralysed below the chest, and his legs buckled as he fell to the floor. He still screamed loudly, being able to feel the pain in his back where Tenchuu's claws had struck.

"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" He cursed as he lay on the ground, screaming. "I'm going to die!"

"Don't worry," Tenchuu said as he walked around the fallen criminal to his front. "I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen. I'm taking you back to the Gotei. We need to know about Kusemono." The name seemed to scratch at whatever was left of the man.

"YOU KNOW HIM!!! YOU KNOW HIM!!! GIVE ME THE DRUGS!" He wailed, tears streaming down his cheeks onto the cold floor. "Give... me... the drugs..."

Tenchuu sighed at the pathetic Shinigami. He had probably once been a great man. But he had been reduced to a snivelling pile of drug-addicted garbage. Tenchuu no longer saw a threat in the man and looked at his Shikai.

_Thank you, Shiruba. I couldn't have done it without you. You can go now._

The gloves shined white for a second, morphing back into spiritual energy. It reformed itself in Tenchuu's right hand as his sealed zanpackuto. He swore as the energy writhed around it whispered _"You're welcome"_.

"Didn't you hear me?! I said give me the stupid drugs!" Shouted Hakkyou, suddenly finding resolve again. "If you don't I'll kill you!" Tenchuu became annoyed by this sudden outburst.

"Oh? And what are you going to do about it, cripple?" He snapped coldly. "Bite my ankles off?"

"BRING IT ON, LOW-LIFE!" Roared the downed Shinigami.

That was it.

Tenchuu's mind snapped. He took his zanpakuto and raised it high.

"DIE, WORM!" He raged as he swung down his blade with all his might.

A loud metallic sound rang out.

Tenchuu's swing had been interrupted by another blade. A Shinigami with brown eyes amd grey hair had appeared between Tenchuu and Hakkyou, holding up his zanpakuto horizontally.

"SEIGI!" Tenchuu blasted. "LET ME KILL HIM!"

"What's wrong with you?!" Seigi replied loudly. "Since you've become a Shinigami, every time an enemy mocks you you go for them! Do you think you're superior, now?! That no one has the right to tarnish your pride?! GET A GRIP, YOU JERK!" Those last words woke Tenchuu from his state of bloodlust.

"I... I..." He murmured. He dropped his zanpakuto immediately, and it collided loudly with the floor, creating a clanging sound that echoed throughout the whole room. "I... didn't even know I was doing it."

"You what?" Seigi asked, his eyebrows narrowed and eyes sharp as daggers. "How can you not know when you're about to kill someone?"

"It just... happened..." Tenchuu told him, wide-eyed, taking a few steps back. Seigi's expression was now one of concern. He was completely clueless what had happened to his friend.

"It's not like you to have fits of rage, Tenchuu," He replied, standing up and sheathing his zanpakuto.

"Hey!" Shouted the voice of Yataka from the other end of the room. "Have you forgotten about me?! Hello!"

Seigi snapped his head around the face the man. He was sat on the floor and his arms and legs had been tied up.

"Is that Yataka?" He asked Tenchuu, calming down.

"Yataka-_Sama_," The captive corrected. "Now free me from these binds. How am I getting out of here? Why aren't the guards coming? Surely they heard all that screaming?" Seigi could tell he was one of the more pompous officials of Rukongai, thinking himself above everyone.

"A member of the Fourth Division will be here momentarily to pick you up," Seigi told the man. "I already took out the guards on the way here, it's a sure bet they're all still unconscious."

"Okay, now mind setting me free?" Yataka asked bitterly. Agitated, Seigi slowly walked over to him and cut his bonds with his zanpakuto. "Now how long before the Fourth Shinigami gets here?"

"Hakkyou, you are under arrest," said an unknown voice. Seigi wheeled around and three Shinigami had appeared in the room around Hakkyou. "We're taking you in for interrogation."

"What?!" Hakkyou cried. "NO! NO I NEED MY DRUGS! NO!"

His cries were immediately silenced as the Shinigami suddenly disappeared from view, along with the criminal.

"What the hell? How can they be so fast? I didn't even see them come in!" Seigi said, bewildered and amazed.

"Don't you remember from our studies, Seigi?" Tenchuu asked. Seigi had just noticed that he was now sat on the floor at the wall with his arms wrapped around his legs. "It's called Flash Step, or Shunpo. It's what I'm trying to work towards."

"Wow, really? Guess I forgot about it," Seigi replied, still in amazement. "Man... they literally just appeared out of nowhere and took him."

"Yeah, it makes them look like they're teleporting," Tenchuu told him.

*

A little later, the Fourth had arrived and taken Yataka for a medical check-up before they escorted him back to his residence. Tenchuu and Seigi were now left alone, laid on the rooftop of the complex watching the orange sunset. The breeze was refreshing up high.

"So you can't control your anger now?" Seigi asked his friend, concerned. "I wonder why?"

"I have no idea," Tenchuu replied, rubbing his head. "I just hope you can stop me again before I kill someone I shouldn't." However his anger was not the main focus of his thoughts at that moment. There was a question that circled in Tenchuu's mind.

_Should I tell Seigi about my Shikai?_ He asked himself, staring at the bright orange clouds. _If word gets to Yakuin, he might send me on different missions than Seigi, thinking I'm more skilled. Maybe I should keep it secret for now._

"I hope so too," Seigi finally responded. It seemed he too had been thinking about something. "You'd better try and control it, though, I might not be there to stop you one time. Anyway, I suppose we'd better get back to the Twelfth."

"Yeah," Tenchuu replied simply, slowly pushing himself up into a standing position. He looked at Seigi, his best friend, and then to the sun setting behind Rukongai. He couldn't help but let out a sad smile.

_This life can't continue forever. It'll change one day. But for now I'll have to make it last as long as I can. I won't let anyone know about my Shikai unless I have to. But there's one last thing I need to do._

*

The next day Tenchuu found himself walking into the Fourth Division's Infirmary. It was a relaxing and cheerful environment. He supposed it needed to be, seeing as people need to be motivated that to live through life-threatening ailments. He followed the signs of the to the help desk.

"Hey, I'm looking for Yataka-Sama," he told the Shinigami at the desk. "I was one of the Shinigami who rescued him."

"Of course," she said. She opened the draw and pulled out a small map, giving it to him. "Ward Two-Seventy, he's being treated for a few injuries. He should be in bed."

"Thank you," Tenchuu told her before heading off into the corridors.

*

Tenchuu walked into the ward specified. It was a beautiful place. Classic and pleasant designs covered the walls, and the clean smell of roses was in the air. He noticed Yataka in one of the soft, white beds and approached.

"Yataka-Sama?" He said. "I'm Kuromeiun Tenchuu, I was one of your rescuers," explained the Shinigami. The official opened his eyes and looked at him. "Oh, yeah. You were the one who paralysed that Hakkyou person. What do you want?"

"You noticed me Shikai, didn't you?" Tenchuu asked him quietly, nervous people around him might hear.

"Yes, why?" Yutaka replied, frowning.

"I'd like you to keep that secret for me," Tenchuu told him. "I fear my life will change for the worse if word gets to my superiors about it." There was an awkward silence for a moment, but slowly, a sickening grin began to form on his face. Tenchuu knew this wasn't going to go well.

"I will keep it from everyone else," he said. "If you become my personal assassin."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Will Tenchuu go against his own morals to keep his shikai a secret? Find out next time in the beginning of the 2nd arc!


	10. Chapter 8: A Flip of Fate's Coin

"Yutaka-Sama? I'm Kuromeiun Tenchuu, I was one of your rescuers," explained the Shinigami. The official opened his eyes and looked at him. "Oh, yeah. You were the one who paralysed that Hakkyou person. What do you want?"

"You noticed my Shikai, didn't you?" Tenchuu asked him quietly, nervous people around him might hear.

"Yes, why?" Yutaka replied, frowning.

"I'd like you to keep that secret for me," Tenchuu told him. "I fear my life will change for the worse if word gets to my superiors about it." There was an awkward silence for a moment, but slowly, a sickening grin began to form on his face. Tenchuu knew this wasn't going to go well.

"I will keep it from everyone else," he said. "If you become my personal assassin."

These words shocked Tenchuu greatly. He had to restrain himself from falling off his chair.

"Are you mad?!" He whispered to the man. "I'm a Shinigami of the Twelfth Division, not a commercial assassin looking for a permanent job!"

"That's exactly why I want you," replied Yutaka, looking into the eyes of the Shinigami. It was a very penetrating glare. Tenchuu felt as if he was reading his very soul. "You're not some arrogant, cocky fool. You're the best. Once you released you took out Hakkyou as if he was human, not Shinigami. You don't even realise just how much value people like you actually _are_ to society. To people like me."

"Look, if I end up working for someone like you no doubt I'll end up killing off people who haven't done a thing wrong," Tenchuu said bluntly. "I work for justice. I'm only in the Twelfth because the Twelfth _is_ justice. I will never work for political gain."

"Just because I'm a politician you assume I'm instantly going to make you take out my competition?" Asked Yutaka, who was also keeping his voice down. "I'm hurt, Tenchuu-San. I just so happen to be well connected to the First District Policing Force. It pains me that so many criminals slip past the power of the police. Some who are caught are just thrown in jail because no one actually has the time to execute them. The police lead very busy lives. I'm _very_ sure that if some of the more dangerous criminals at large were to be... disposed of... the police might have more time to focus on other, smaller matters." There was another silence as Tenchuu thought hard. He was beginning to become torn. But he knew where his loyalties lay. The staff in the room had left, and only Tenchuu and Yutaka remained, meaning they could talk a bit louder now.

"I made an oath the Twelfth. I can't go around killing Rukongai criminals. That's not my job," he told Yutaka, rubbing his head. "I'm sorry."

"Then I guess I can't guarantee this secret will stay secret for very long," Yutaka said spitefully as he lay in his bed, grinning sinisterly. Tenchuu growled. By coming to see Yutaka he'd actually done more harm than good. If he had have kept quiet Yutaka wouldn't have known it was supposed to be a secret fact and completely ignored it. However now that he knew that Tenchuu _needed_ it to be a secret he'd made the smart move and threatened Tenchuu with it.

_What a manipulative idiot..._ Tenchuu thought. _I can't do it... I can't betray the Twelfth like this..._

"You know what? Screw this," Tenchuu said, giving up. "If I get separated from Seigi to take on more dangerous missions, whatever. That's my duty. I can't toss it aside for personal preference, especially if corrupt politicians like you are going to take advantage of me." He turned his back to the man in the bed and sighed from relief. "Thanks for showing me that very helpful life lesson, _Sir_."

Tenchuu was about to walk off, but he heard something he didn't like the sound of - Yutaka's cackles. He looked over his shoulder again.

"What's so funny?" He asked, with a look of pure venom on his face.

"I _think_ I _might vaguely_ remember _something_ about you having _some kind_ of 'temper problem'," He said to the Shinigami, winking. "Hmm... I can imagine being a danger to people you aren't supposed to kill doesn't look good on a Shinigami, does it?" He laughed quietly to himself again. "I guess, though, if this person is _helping_ me it would be cruel to report this problem to the Gotei. _Very_ unappreciative of a good subordinate." Tenchuu grinded his teeth so much that it made a horrible sound. He clenched his fists so tight he was sure his nails were cutting his palm. But he didn't care.

"You!" He shouted at the politician, angrier than he ever had been in his life, even at a target. The urge to kill him was rising. "I hate you! I saved your life and now you're threatening me to make me your slave?! You're sick!"

"I bet you feel it right now, don't you?" Yutaka said, still chuckling. "That anger of yours really is a problem for you."

"People like you make it worse," He snarled. "What is there stopping me from killing you right here and now, when nobody is looking?"

"You are the only person in this room with me. It'd have to be you. Oh, and you have morals," Yutaka answered, that grin still on his wrinkled, middle-aged face. "You will work for me, or else the hunter will become the hunted." Tenchuu could not believe the situation he'd been placed in.

He would either be dismissed for being a danger...

Or he would have to betray the whole Division...

"Choices, choices. Hmm, Tenchuu?" Yutaka taunted, lifting up his arms and placing his hands behind his head in a relaxing position. He was _still_ smiling.

"You expect me to make a decision like this right _now_?" Tenchuu asked the man. He was completely torn at the seems. He didn't know what kind of man he was anymore. His life could branch out in two completely different ways by making this one decision. His choice would make him one of two men, each equally vile.

"I'm not _that_ cruel," Yutaka told him. "I assume you know the address of my private residence? Come along tomorrow with your decision." He turned onto his side, facing away from Tenchuu, waving at him as if to tell him to go away. "Oh, and I'll have my hidden cameras in the room. In the event I am killed I will have to footage sent to the Twelfth. How would you explain my death to your superiors without telling them the truth of your nature, hmm? Oh, and one _other_ thing. I won't hound you with jobs. I'll let you continue your life in the Twelfth and let you do these jobs when you have spare time, if it helps you change your mind."

Tenchuu stood in the ward alone, watching the man he loathed the most in the whole world peacefully fall asleep without a care in the world. The very thought of it made him nauseous. The Shinigami left the room a few moments later, made his way to the nearest toilet and threw up violently.

*

"Tenchuu, where have you been?" Seigi asked as Tenchuu traipsed through the gates into the Twelfth Division grounds, evidently very concerned. It was sunset, and the two had not met all day. "You look awful! What the hell happened?"

"I think I ate something bad while I was out," Tenchuu muttered as he dragged his feet towards the barracks. "I need sleep."

"Here, let me help you," Seigi said, rushing to his partner's side.

"No, it's fine," Tenchuu told him. "But... can you answer me this?"

"Sure, what is it?" asked Seigi, always willing to help his friend.

"Do you think the Twelfth'd come after me if they knew I was a danger?" He asked him, looking up at him. Seigi could see deep, deep sadness in his green eyes.

"Depends how bad your anger gets," he said, frowning. "But they aren't going to find out, are they? I mean, that Yutaka guy wouldn't report you after saving his life. He'd have to be a really cruel git. And I'll be around to make sure no one else knows!"

_Irony is so cruel..._ Tenchuu thought as he nodded at Seigi's answer, saddened further by his words. "I'm off to bed, now."

"Then stop being stubborn and let me help you to bed!" Seigi demanded in a friendly manner. Tenchuu looked into his eyes and became lost in deep thought for a moment.

_This is the man I have grown up with every since we met in Rukongai. We share a bond that no one can break. We've stuck through thin and thin, and even over something so trivial as 'food poisoning' he worries and tries to help me. Can I really betray my best friend?_

"Tenchuu?" Seigi said, placing his arm on Tenchuu's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Seigi," Tenchuu said, sluggishly pulling his arm away from him. "It's okay, I can make it myself."

Seigi stood alone in the wavering sunlight and watched as Tenchuu slowly hobbled towards his dorm. A tear formed in his eye at the very sight of it. It trickled down his cheek as Tenchuu walked around the shouji screen into the building, not even looking back once.

_Tenchuu... what _actually_ happened today?_ Seigi asked himself as the last drop of sunlight disappeared behind the beautiful landscape of Seireitei.

*

The Shinigami lay in his bed, alone in the room. In his hand he held a coin he'd picked up from Rukongai one day. He was still trying to decide which path to choose, and no memories or positive thoughts comforted him in the slightest. He spun the coin around in his fingers, staring at both the sides of the shining object.

_I can't do it. I just can't decide what to do. There isn't any way out, either,_ he thought, completely disheartened by the days events.

_Perhaps I could help with an answer._

*

Tenchuu found himself lying in the fields of silver grass once more, looking up into the relaxing lilac sky. The breeze tickled the grass, causing it to sway gently. But none of this comforted the broken man.

"You are letting this one man manipulate you," Came the calming voice of Shiruba the silver wolf, who appeared as an image in the sky above him.

"Well what _else_ can I do?!" Tenchuu shouted, angered by her. "He's forced me into a situation where no matter WHAT I do I will be either betraying my Division or signing my death wish."

"What is your goal in life, Tenchuu?" the wolf asked of him in her relaxing voice. Tenchuu calmed slightly and sighed.

"To be a herald of justice," he told her. "But how does that help in this situation?"

"If the Twelfth imprisons you, you will not be able to be that herald," she said. "If you accept this man's offer you will still be purging criminals." Shocked by her sharp opinion, Tenchuu's eyes opened wide.

"You're telling me that betraying the Division is justice?" He asked her, his tone becoming harsher every second. "That isn't right. How can it be? Society will never accept me as either a traitor or a danger to people. Both are vile."

"It is up to _you_ to decide what is right and wrong for _you_. You are your own person. Whatever path you take I will follow you. Know that."

*

Tenchuu found himself laid in his bed in his dark room once more. The covers felt soggy. Had he been crying while Shiruba was talking to him? He wiped his eyes and found tears.

_Society would expect me to give up and accept my imprisonment, yet justice would expect me to continue the killing of criminals._ He thought, staring at the wooden ceiling. _Is this fate's idea of a joke?_ Then an idea struck him. Could it have been the solution to his choice? _Fate..._ He took the coin that was now on the bed sheets into his hand once again. _Maybe it does exist after all. If that is so... and I entrust my decision to this coin... would it be influenced by it? Or is the chance really fifty-fifty? I guess... it's worth a try._

Tenchuu placed the coin on his thumb and thought again.

_Heads I go and tell Yutaka no. Tails I tell him yes. This is it. The coin could pick either path for me. I'm entrusting my life to fate, now._

He flipped it up into the air. It seemed to move so slowly as it spun through the air, reflecting light from the moon outside...

Heads... Tails... Heads... Tails...

Tenchuu snatched the coin from the air and slammed it down onto his other hand.

_Here goes nothing._

He took his hand from the coin and looked at the coin.

*

The next morning Tenchuu walked up to the private residence of the accursed Yutaka, who had been discharged from the Infirmary the night before. It was a tall building, three floors, each easily the size of a regular house in the First District, the richest District in Rukongai. The walls were covered in a pleasant beige colour and his garden was filled to the brim with life, including an assortment of flowers, trees, and brightly-coloured insects.

The Shinigami of the Twelfth Division walked up to the large mansion and knocked on the large, black doors.

_Such a nice place. Shame it belongs to such a corrupt politician._

The doors opened with an eerie, stereotypical creak. A familiar man was stood on the other side.

"Ah, Tenchuu-San! Good to see you!" He said, another smile stretching onto his old face. "Come in, come in."

Tenchuu nodded and walked inside. The hall was just as spectacular. The walls were decorated from tip to toe with expensive paintings, sculptures and ornaments.

"What is your answer, Tenchuu-San?" Yutaka asked, his smile gone. The two men stood in the hallway, alone.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** What is Tenchuu's answer? Will he become the pawn of a corrupt politician or will be noble and accept his fate as a danger to missions.


	11. Chapter 9: Birth of the Wicked

"My answer is yes," Tenchuu replied, frowning. He felt completely neutrally about the whole situation, now. His tears had been exhausted and he could feel guilty no longer. He needed to move on and accept fate. "I will work for you." This response was met by another sinister smile from the corrupt politician, one that made Tenchuu feel uneasy.

"Splendid," he replied simply. He opened his mouth to speak again but Tenchuu cut him off.

"But you listen to me," He said in a harsh tone, his fists clenched. "I'm not doing this because I want to. I'll take your jobs for now, but as soon as I have a chance I'm out of here."

"Well then lets hope that day never comes," said Yutaka with another grin. Tenchuu's upper lip began to twitch with disgust. "Now I assume you'll want an alias..."

"Yokoshima," Tenchuu interrupted yet again. The politician tilted his head to the side slightly as if in confusion.

"Yokoshima?" He asked, his smile gone. "'Wicked'? That's a little dark for someone like you."

"Exactly," Tenchuu replied, lifting his head up and staring at the ceiling. "If I'm to be your secret assassin I can't act anything like myself. It'll give it away to the Gotei." This was met by a chuckle from Yutaka.

"One step ahead of everyone else," he commented, looking at Tenchuu straight in the eyes with another horrible, penetrating glare. "I like it."

"Got anything I can wear?" Tenchuu asked, attempting to move the conversation on quickly. "I can't wear my Shihakushou, obviously."

"As a matter of fact, yes I have," Yutaka told him, his smile seeming to become wider. "This way." He turned around and began to walk down the corridor. Sighing and accepting his fate, Tenchuu followed.

They passed several doors, all were made of a rich wood and held a gloss coat, just like the flooring. Tenchuu could smell the polish used on the surfaces quite strongly and it made him cringe. He wasn't used to such a place. The smell distracted him from the many paintings that lined the walls, which was probably a good thing, as he never really appreciated art.

"Through here," Yutaka said finally, stopping outside a black door on the end of the long hall. He stood aside and held his arm out, gesturing to it. Tenchuu stared at the door for a moment, his expression extremely serious.

_Why do I get the feeling I'm going to regret this?_

Shrugging off his gut instincts he nodded and walked towards it. He placed his hand on the handle and pushed.

*

Many, many miles away, in a lush, expansive forest on the outskirts of Rukongai, Seigi sat underneath one of the many trees, quietly thinking to himself and enjoying the peace. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

"I wish Tenchuu were here to enjoy this," he mumbled, resting his head against the tree trunk. "Well, whatever he's doing must be important. He seemed so upset about it yesterday." Seigi's memories turned to the previous night, where he and Tenchuu had had a deep and tense conversation in the Twelfth Grounds.

_Tenchuu... what the hell is going on..._

*

Tenchuu walked into what appeared to be a mile-long wardrobe. Every surface was covered in a golden-brown wood and the walls were covered in outfits ranging from royal to rags. There were some very rich-looking dresses and frilled shirts among what appeared to be clothes dug up from a grave. The wardrobe had everything, from the normal to the bizarre.

"Perhaps you'll find a disguise in there," said Yutaka from outside, smiling again. "See what you can dig up." Although clueless as to why the politician had this collection, he nodded and walked down the wardrobe. Although he didn't want to admit it, he was in awe.

_There's got to be something in here._

His eyes flickered from costume to costume, and mentally dismissed every item. There was nothing that instantly screamed 'wicked' at him. That was until...

"Perfect," Tenchuu said. He reached out into the mass of fabric and pulled out a floor-length, hooded black cloak. "I can shield my face and keep my Shihakushou hidden underneath." He threw it around his back and slipped both his arms into the sleeves. The material was soft and light, perfect for an on-the-move job. "This'll do."

He looked upwards down the corridor of clothes once again distractedly. Something caught his eye. It appeared to be glowing.

_What is that?_

He walked through the wardrobe and proceeded to it's source. It seemed to get brighter as he got closer and emitted a humming sound. Was it perhaps some kind of machine?

"I wouldn't touch that, Yokoshima," came Yutaka's voice from behind Tenchuu, startling him and causing him to wheel around.

"What is it?" He asked, moving his hand to his chest and breathing quickly. "And don't scare me like that."

"My apologies," Yutaka said, moving towards the source of the light. "This is something my research team is working on."

_Research team?_ Tenchuu immediately thought. _Since when did politicians have research teams?_ He followed him and gazed upon the object.

"It's a..."

"Gauntlet," Yutaka finished. He looked up into Tenchuu's eyes, which were fixed to the glowing object. It was, essentially, a black leather gauntlet. However, it were old and worn. But the most peculiar thing about it was the white, circuit-like pattern flowing up it. That was the source of both the glowing and humming.

"What's it for?" Tenchuu questioned, meeting Yutaka's eyes.

"I like to call it Yugameru," Yutaka explained, smiling deviously once more. "It's a product of spirit particle research."

"'To distort'?" Tenchuu translated, puzzled. He placed his hand on his chin and thought hard. "Does it..."

"All in due time, Yokoshima, it _is_ for you after all," Yutaka said, placing his hand on his cohort's shoulder. Tenchuu was slightly taken aback by the whole situation.

"M-me?" He stammered, his eyes wide. "Seriously?"

"Yes," confirmed the politician. "But first we need to finish it. It should be done within the week. In the meanwhile I have two jobs to start you off."

*

In the middle of a clearing Seigi sat, cross-legged and meditating. The wind blew through the forest, picking up several leaves along the way and finally dropping them to rest in the clearing. His eyes were held tightly shut as he struggled hard to manipulate his reiatsu.

_Man... so matter how many times I do it I can't move reiatsu around anywhere,_ he thought. He gave up and lay back on the grass, opening his eyes to watch the clouds in the sky. _I wonder why Tenchuu is so good at it?_

*

Tenchuu stood at the front door next to Yutaka with his new cloak. He nodded and turned to face the exit.

"Thank you," he said, walking forwards. "I'll sort them."

"It is greatly appreciated, Yokoshima," Yutaka said warmly. "Remember; come back one week from now. I expect both targets dead. I'll have Yugameru ready for you as well."

"Again, thank you," Tenchuu replied, walking out into the bright garden and closing the doors behind him, leaving a grinning Yutaka alone in his house. That was when the reality of his actions hit him.

_I actually said _thank you_ to the guy that's blackmailing me to do these things?!_ He thought, shocked with himself. He stumbled over to the wall and leaned on it for support. He could hardly breathe all of a sudden. _What the hell am I doing?! I'm not supposed to be amused by this in the slightest!_

*

"Yokoshima seemed to get used to the idea of being my assassin very quick, I must say," said Yutaka. "Are you really sure his resolve as an agent of the Twelfth is that strong?"

"It did appear so from the reports," said another voice. "Want me to keep an eye on him?"

"No. Let's see what he does. He can't report me, or he'll have to explain his actions to the Gotei."

*

When Tenchuu arrived back at the Twelfth grounds it was dark. His cloak was folded up and tucked away inside a small bag that dangled from his shoulder. Although not necessarily hidden, people would not suspect something so devious to be in a bag so visibly on display. Reverse psychology was a useful skill.

"Hey Tenchuu!" came a familiar voice from inside the grounds. It was one of the divisioners. "Seigi told me to tell you he was training in the 'forest'!" Tenchuu looked up at him and nodded.

"Thanks for letting me know," he said, walking past the Shinigami and proceeding towards the barracks.

_So tomorrow I begin my first mission as Yokoshima. I'd better just get it over with..._

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Next time Tenchuu starts his life as the sinister Yokoshima... how will it play out?


	12. Chapter 10: A Denied Second Chance

Tenchuu sat in his bedroom in the Twelfth division at dawn, staring at the ceiling. In his hand he held a sealed envelope. Inside were the details of his mission in the Rukongai First District. He fiddled with it between his fingers as he was lost in his own thoughts. Eventually he summoned the energy to look down at the envelope and begin to tear at it. Scanning the contents, Tenchuu found that there was only a single photograph and a letter. Curious, he took the letter out and unfolded it. Reading the contents, he paused for a moment and focused his eyebrows.

_This mission... It's..._ he began to think as he became lost once again.

*

Hitogoroshi Shoukyaku looked up to the raining sky. Every day he looked up to the sky, and every day it was the same - a blessing. Yet it was also a reason to ridicule Rukongai. He stood outside a busy, rather posh cafe in the centre of the District and thought these philosophical nothings to himself. He chuckled occasionally when he thought of something particularly amusing to himself, such as the faces of the family of his victim as they realised there would be no justice, no call for his death. After every such thought he would look to the sky again and bless whatever twisted deity had decided to save his life.

After a while he grew tedious and took a stroll down the busy streets of the area.

*

It was coming up to sunset and it had been a peaceful day for the owner of the local ramen bar. He stood outside in the sun and brushed the dust out of his shop. There was not a soul in sight.

That was, however, until a figure in a floor-length, black cloak turned onto the street some fifty metres away. The owner took no notice, however, and continued to brush. He took a quick break, standing up straight and stretching his back.

"Oooooh, that did it," he said in reference to his back, propping the broom up against the wall. "I'm getting too old for this."

"Excuse me," said a rather low-pitched voice. The owner turned his stiff neck and saw the man in the black cloak he'd seen not a moment ago. His face was hidden by a hood, and only his lips were visible. "I'm looking for this man." He raised his arm slowly to reveal he was holding a photograph. The man printed on it looked beaten and rather sinister. The owner got a bad feeling from all of this.

"I haven't seen him," he said, frowning and edging slowly over to his broom. If worst came to worst he might be able to cause a ruckus by hitting the stranger with it. "Why?"

"He's in grave danger," spoke the man in the cloak. These words relieved the owner and he sighed. "Yes, I'm not out to get him _or_ you. But if I don't get to him in time he is going to be killed." The cloaked figure did not lower the photograph, as if expecting the owner to take another look. He obliged, rolled his eyes, and stared at the photo.

"Yeah, he's a regular here," he explained. "He's called Hitogoroshi Shoukyaku. He lives a few streets away." The figure nodded and turned, as if to walk away. "What, no thank you?"

"I'm going to save his life, I have no time for gratitude," the man replied coldly, beginning to walk away.

"Hey! Who do you think you are, making an old man think he's about to be mugged, getting some information from him and then leaving?!" complained the owner, summoning courage and stepping forward. "You've got some nerve!"

"My name is not important, and what don't you understand about 'he is in danger'? I need to go, now," he responded, breaking into a sprint and disappearing from view a few moments later. The owner was left speechless, bewildered, and shaken.

*

Shoukyaku leisurely sat outside his home smoking a cigar and enjoying the last of the day's sun. The shadows of the night began to creep onto the street and a breeze suddenly blew past him. He shivered slightly.

"Jeeze, where did that come from all of a sudden?" he asked himself, tightening his jacket. "That was weird."

"Hadou thirty, Big Bang," he heard someone say all of a sudden. Not recognising the voice, he rose from his chair and twisted his head around violently.

"What the... who's there?!" He shouted, gritting his teeth together. This guy, wherever he was, was very suspicious. The prospect of someone knowing about his past life horrified Shoukyaku. "Hey!" In the corner of his eye he noticed a small glowing orb. It didn't even appear to be a physical object. "What is that?"

*

The owned or the ramen bar sat outside the shop on a bench that had been dragged out for him by his assistant, who was now massaging his shoulders.

"Thanks, that really helps," he said, smiling kindly.

"No problem, Senpai," the assistant replied, returning the gesture.

Suddenly, a large explosion could be heard. The horrible sound blasted the area around them with a large pressure, presumebly from the sheer force. The two immediately wheeled around to face the explosion, which now appeared as a large cloud of smoke rising over the tall houses.

"That's..."

"Shoukyaku-San's house!" The owner cried, standing up with such speed that his knees gave way and buckled, causing him to fall to the floor. "NO! That man in the cloak didn't get there in time!"

*

A few hours later, Tenchuu walked through the gates of the Twelfth division grounds with another bag hanging from his shoulder. It was around three o'clock in the morning when he arrived, and he was exhausted beyond all reason immediately explainable by his fellow divisioners.

"Where've you been today?" Came a familiar, scorned voice. Tenchuu cranked his head round and saw the figure of Seigi. "You sure do seem to be keeping your distance from me."

"I just figured I'd go out today - I had nothing better to do," Tenchuu replied, walking past him. "And seeing you were training at the forest, I couldn't talk to you, either." Seigi wasn't done yet, however.

"Well you'd better get rested up, we have a mission first thing tomorrow," he explained to his partner, his arms folded. "It's a big one, apparantly."

_Great... last thing I need right now..._ Tenchuu thought, groaning out loud.

"Fine, I'll go get some sleep, see you in the morning," he said, waving back at Seigi as he disappeared into the barracks. Seigi was left to stand alone in the grounds, frustrated and shaking his head.

*

Tenchuu laid down on the bed, his bag hidden underneath it. He closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep. In his hand he still held the note he had read earlier.

**_Dear Yokoshima,_**

Your first target will be the man shown in the photograph enclosed. He is a murderer, brutally killing a father of three in Rukongai's First District. He could not be convicted, however, as he was very cautious and left no evidence to be used to convict him. He was released after a long trial and given a new I.D. Sadly I cannot find out his name nor place of residence. It is up to you to take the photograph, find him, and bring him to justice for the crime.

Thank you Yokoshima, you'll be allowing one heartbroken family to rejoice knowing their father and husband has been avenged.

Yours faithfully,  
Your Cohort

Tenchuu turned over in his sheets and smiled to himself, satisfied he'd done well.

_I guess these missions won't be so bad after all,_ He thought. _I could get used to this._ With that he lost conciousness, drifting off into a very sound sleep.


	13. Chapter 11: It's Nothing Personal

****

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

This be another collab! This time the guest is Uchiwa Hikari, played by 'Shadowthreader'!

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Seigi sighed as he walked up to the door of his superior's office once again. He was disappointed at his inability to master the Tech.

_What doesn't help is that Tenchuu can use it like he's an expert,_ he thought. _I wonder if Yakuin'll have a go at me for this._

He lifted his hand and held it to the door, wondering if knocking was a good idea.

"Oh, quit stalling and get the hell in here!" shouted a voice from inside the room. Seigi cringed.

_How did he know?_

Bewildered, he pushed open the door to the office and slowly walked inside, wary of his normally abusive superior.

"Now, I understand you've had a few problems learning a tech," He started. Seigi's eye twitched - he knew what was coming. "It's a pretty basic technique to use. Got to send your reiatsu into a different location in your body other than you hand, used for Kidou. Come on, Seigu, anyone who can use _byakurai_ would be able to do this." Seigi grinded his teeth. Yakuin knew fully well Seigi could not use Kidou in the slightest. It was obvious he was trying to make a scabby wound bleed again. "Anyway, that aside, I need you to do something with Tenchuu."

_As usual, he can get his name right but never mine,_ Seigi thought.

"You have a mission," Yakuin began. "But first things first. UCHIWA! Get in here!!" Seigi frowned.

_Uchiwa? Don't tell me he's getting someone else to babysit us, now._

* * *

**Uchiwa Hikari**

_A mission with a member of the 12th division, this should be interesting,_ Hikari thought while waiting in the twelfth division outside of an office.

She heard her name being called up, the girl walked through the door into the office. She saw a man, whom she suspected to be about as tall as herself, with grey-brown hair.

"Yes? You called," She commented when she came into the office.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Seigi looked at the woman who just walked in. She was average height and decently toned, decent for a fight. There were two features, however, that struck out at Seigi. Her left eye was black and her right one yellow, and she had bright, neon-green hair. She would stick out like a soar thumb in a crowd or in hiding.

_Not much of an assassin then,_ Seigi said, chuckling to himself.

"Yes, I believe I did," Yakuin snarled. Seigi frowned. An entrance of that kind wasn't something Yakuin would usually get annoyed with. "Anyway, Seigi, meet Uchiwa Hikari, an unseated 10th member."

_Unseated?_ Seigi thought to himself, suspicious. _So it looks like she's not our babysitter. Thank God._ Then a sudden realisation struck him. _Wait... did he just get my name right?!_

"Hikari is a kidou-user, but lacks major in close combat. Just a random fact I think you ought to know, seeing as you're going to be working with her," Yakuin told Seigi. Although doing well to keep his confusion buried inside him, it continued to mount.

_Why tell me that? I'm sure she would have told me herself._

"Anyway, the mission," Yakuin began. "There's a Hollow in the real world that's been giving Shinigami a _lot_ of hassle. Quite a few have already been eaten. You three are going to take it out. By three I mean you two and Kuromeiun Tenchuu, Seigi's pal."

Seigi nodded at the instructions. Something was out of place here, however. Why would he be teamed up with someone _outside_ the division?

"Oh, and Seigi?" Yakuin said, focusing on him specifically. "I have a letter addressed to you and Tenchuu. You're both to read it on your way to the target's last known location." Again, Seigi nodded in acknowledgement.

* * *

**Uchiwa Hikari**

_I lack in close combat? Well that is true, but I'm sure my kidou skills more than make up for it,_ Hikari frowned in her thoughts as she listened the officer instruct her and Seigi. Apparently there was going to be one more person to join them in the mission.

"Understood, when will we start the mission?" she asked after the explanation.

_I wonder will I be able to work with full concrentration to kidous during the fight_, the girl thought while asking, "When will we meet with our last member?"

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Yakuin's eye twitched subtly as Hikari spoke to him. It was _very_ slight, but Seigi had spent enough dreaded time alone with him to notice when something was bothering him. The superior officer did not answer right away, but instead reached into his drawer and pulled out a manilla envelope, which he help out at Seigi. That was supposedly the letter he was talking about.

Seigi reached out and took the letter. Tempted as he was to read it on the spot, it was not a good idea to disobey Yakuin's orders. Especially more so if he was in the room with him. Yakuin finally looked at Hikari.

"You can leave immediately. Tenchuu is already here, I believe," he explained as he leaned back in his chair. "He usually follows Seigi around wherever he goes."

_I don't get this, he's managed to get my name correct like five times now,_ Seigi thought. _And he isn't spurting abuse at me. Something really isn't right._

"Well? I said you two could go! Get going!" Yakuin snapped aggressively. sitting straight in his chair again.

_Well so much for the lack of abuse._

*

Half a minute later Seigi walked out of the Twelfth barracks and into the grounds. He was met straight away by a voice he knew all too well.

"So, what's the job?" asked Tenchuu, who was leaning against the wall next to the door.

"We got to go with this Tenth divisioner and kill off a hollow," Seigi told him, smiling. "To put it simply."

"Tenth?" Tenchuu asked with scepticism, pushing himself to stand properly. "What the hell? Where's this Tenth guy?"

"_She_ is right behind me," Seigi said, stepping to the side of the door. He gestured inside. "This is Hikari."

* * *

**Uchiwa Hikari**

After being yelled to get out of the office. Hikari and Seigi walked out of the barracks, they saw another man leaning towards the wall.

He was Tenchuu, she assumed by what the officer had said earlier. Seigi spoke to him for a while.

"I'm Uchiwa Hikari, pleased to meet you, Tenchuu-san," Hikari said after Seigi had stepped aside.

Tenchuu had black hair, that was about the same as length as her own, and green eyes, _well he certainly is a cool looking fellow, I wonder if he is tolerable,_ the girl thought.

"How about we head to the Senkaimon and get this mission underway," she continued and started walking towards the senkaimon, situated in the division grounds.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Tenchuu stood on the spot and twitched his eye at Hikari's introduction.

"Formalities..." He muttered, grinning awkwardly. Seigi noticed his discomfort and moved swiftly.

"He's not a big fan of formalities," he told Hikari, smiling.

"Yeah, just call me Tenchuu," Tenchuu said, nodding. "We're the same rank, it's stupid we have to talk to each other like we're in some sort of business. Hell I don't even like addressing superiors respectfully. That's why Seigi goes to talk to Yakuin while I stay out here."

"'You done yet?" Seigi asked his friend, slightly irritated.

"Yeah alright," Tenchuu agreed, rolling his eyes. "Anyway yeah, let's get to the Senkaimon. We got a Hollow to kill."

* * *

**Uchiwa Hikari**

"Oh, okay, well its not really that someone could know that you don't like formalities if they've just met you," She said while they walked to the Senkaimon.

After getting through the Senkaimon, with ease since it was situationed in the same division, they ended up near a seemingly abandoned village.

"So, where exactly is the hollow supposed to be?" Hikari asked when she couldn't sense any other reiatsu than her partners.

* * *

****

Kuromeiun Tenchuu

Tenchuu and Seigi walked through the Senkaimon. Upon arrival on the other side, the two fell to the ground, disoriented.

"Hoo, boy..." Tenchuu said as he struggled back to his feet, clutching his head. "That gate is annoying."

"Yeah," Seigi agreed, standing up. He took a moment to survey the surroundings. Getting a bad gut instinct he frowned.

_An abandoned village? Why would a Hollow attack here? Unless it killed everyone already..._

"Hey, Seigi!" Tenchuu said, finally regaining his senses. "Didn't Yakuin give you a letter?"

"Oh!" Seigi said, slapping his forehead. "Duh, give me a sec guys." Annoyed with his own forgetfulness he reached inside his Shihakushou and pulled out the manila envelope. He paused to think for a moment. He looked at the envelope, but didn't like the aura he got from it.

_I don't usually feel like this about a letter,_ he thought. He swallowed and opened the envelope and took the letter out. It was handwritten. Yakuin's writing. He read it silently for a moment... and turned white as a ghost.

"Seigi?" Tenchuu asked, concerned. "What is it?" Seigi quickly passed the letter to Tenchuu, as if it contained terrible, top secret information. "What the..." He looked up at Seigi, revealing he'd turned the same shade of white. "W-what do we do?"

"What is says on the letter," Seigi said. Everything about his expression was serious and grave. "No choice." Tenchuu took a moment to focus and gather his thoughts.

"Alright," he agreed. He took the letter and put it inside his own Shihakushou. "So the hollow's up ahead, right?"

* * *

**Uchiwa Hikari**

Hikari watched the two man discuss while reading the letter the officer had given them. They seemed to horrified by the facts in it. So she asked them about it.

They didn't tell her and wondered about the hollows location.

"I don't know, but it should be, how about we split up and search this nearby area for any clues?" She suggested as she pointed towards the area ahead of them and walked few feet ahead in one direction. _Hopefully I won't stumble into anything weird._

"How about I go this way?"

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Tenchuu and Seigi swiftly looked at each other and with grim looks. They cranked their heads back to face Hikari.

"Sorry," Seigi said to her with a fake smile. "We got to stick together. Tenchuu will find trace the Hollow's reaitsu." He paused and looked up at his partner. "Tenchuu?"

"Yeah," acknowledged Tenchuu. He closed his eyes for a moment as Seigi watched, almost fixated. "West."

"Gotcha," Seigi said. "It's West, we sense the reaitsu. It's pretty big. You ready?" He asked that question with a strange hint of unease.

* * *

**Uchiwa Hikari**

It was understoodable that they should stay together, since the hollow had killed few shinigami already in its life.

_How is he able to sense the hollow from this far away,_ Hikari wondered as Tenchuu traced the target of their mission.

"Yeah, I understand, and I'm ready," Hikari said and prepared herself to battle a powerful hollow.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

*

The three dashed through the area, not even stopping to examine the damage done to this place. It was still unclear whether this village had been abandoned for a long time, or whether it was freshly destroyed.

As they carried on, the clouds gathered above. The air became cool and humid, and eventually it began to rain.

_This is a bad omen,_ Seigi thought, frowning hard.

"We're here," Tenchuu said, stopping abruptly. Seigi halted as well. Quietly, their faces hidden from Hikari, they walked into the middle of the area. It was an open field in the middle of some disused and derelict buildings.

It seemed Tenchuu was muttering something and Seigi had his hand on his zanpakuto hilt.

* * *

**Uchiwa Hikari**

After stopped by Tenchuu, the men went forward into a middle area, hiding their faces from her. _Why these two are acting so weird, was it because of the letter,_ Hikari thought as the rain started to pour.

"What are you two doing over there?" the girl asked when Tenchuu was mumbling something and his partner was preparing for a battle.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

The two froze on the spot. There was an awkward silence, filled only by the sounds of the increasingly heavy rain. Tenchuu turned around and began walking back towards Hikari.

"Bakudo thirteen, Earthern Maw," he cited, thrusting his hand out at the ground below her. It seemed that when he was muttering he was saying the incantation to the spell.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Hikari shook and four long tendrils shot out of the earth and attempted to wrap themselves around Hikari's limbs.

While this was happening Seigi charged towards her as fast as he could, his zanpakuto drawn and raised.

"I'm sorry, Hikari!" He said, his face full of what appeared to be anger. "This is nothing personal!"

He aimed for a powerful downward slash on her right arm.

_If she loses her right arm at the beginning of the fight this she'll be even easier to deal with,_ he thought. _But still... I can't believe I'm doing this..._

Tenchuu, meanwhile, was preparing his next Kidou in case Seigi's attack failed.

"Slice open the gaps to Heaven's gateway..." he muttered. A constant sense of guilt weighed his stomach down as he mustered the kidou energy.

* * *

**Uchiwa Hikari**

She was shocked, when the two twelfth divisioners started attacking her.

"Hitotsu!" She shouted as she jumped to avoid tendrils that had started to near her legs, cutting them with the kidou spells blades and also directed one of the blades towards Tenchuu. Drawing her zanpakutou to block Seigi's strike at her. She, however was not able to fully block the strike, her landing wasn't perfect and she stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Why you are doing this?" She shouted as she stood up and turned towards the twelfth divisioners, her eyes about to burst into tears.

_Wait, the twelfth division specializes in assasinations, so are these two trying to assasinate me, but what have I done to get killed, _Hikari thought in shock.

"Break the dragon's jaw, little firestar. Hadou number thirty, Big Bang," Hikari chanted and collected the energy into her palm.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

"That letter we got..." Seigi said, still glaring at Hikari. "'Tenchuu and Seigi, if you are reading this then it is time to reveal a few truths. There is no hollow. Captain Louhi has requested that I set you two up with a Tenth divisioner and have you turn on them. I partnered you with Hikari because she is roughly of your skill. As there are two of you you should have no trouble attacking her.'" He sighed and twirled his sword in his right hand. "So yeah, nothing personal."

_Still doesn't stop me from feeling like a git._

He then overheard Hikari's chant through the rain and recognised its incantation.

_That Big Bang Tenchuu uses! Crap!_

As if to rescue his comrade, Tenchuu dashed round at high speed so he could clearly see Hikari around Seigi.

"...Draw the hidden blade! Hadou Nine, Kamaitachi!" Tenchuu shouted, thrusting his open palm in Hikari's direction.

Suddenly the wind blew all around Tenchuu, throwing the rain in many different directions. The cuts in the air soared towards the target shinigami, hopefully before she fired off her own kidou.

_She can use Big Bang too? I see... and darn... this rain will help her see where my attacks are too..._

* * *

**Uchiwa Hikari**

_I'm rougly their level? I'm not even near these two,_ she thought after hearing what that letter had been about.

Then she noticed Tenchuu running on to her side, so that his buddy wouldn't be on the way of his kidou.

She heard his chant finishing, _Kamaitachi, huh, fine lets kamaitachi duel, _she thought and let the energy gathered on her palm wane."Hitotsu!" Hikari shouted and thrusted her palm towards the rain splits that had been rushing towards her. The air around the girl started to form into blades and charge towards Tenchuus blades.

_It seems I will not have time to chant for shakkahou, unless I don't distract these two somehow,_ she thought and ran into one of the houses that were around the area.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

The blades soared towards each other and in most cases colliding, creating small explosions of air and wind in between the two warriors.

However, a couple of blades seeped through the carnage on either side. Tenchuu saw the rain splits and reacted on instinct.

_Damn!_

He used his high class speed to throw himself out of the way and into the ground, allowing the Kamaitachi to whizz harmlessly over him.

_She can use Kamaitachi too? I wonder what other Kidou she uses that I do._

While the Kamaitachi explosions were taking place Seigi took advantage of having Hikari's focus taken off him and dashed towards her, aiming to slash at the leg closest to him.

_Sorry, Hikari,_ He thought, growling as he swung.

* * *

**Uchiwa Hikari**

The Kamaitachi blades caused explosions as they collided with each other. Then she heard a growl from below, and looked as the sword cut her left ankle. She fell down to the ground. _Ouch, I maybe able to walk, but at least they got me down, but not out,_ Hikari thought.

"Break the dragon's jaw, little firestar. Hadou number thirty, Big Bang," The girl chanted and fired away at Seigi. _Dodge this!_

**

* * *

****Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

_She's down!_ Seigi thought to himself. However with the prospect of victory growing nearer, his sense of guilt rose with it. As soon as Hikari began to chant, he recognised the Kidou and began to run backwards, anxious about its power. _If I get caught in that I'm a goner!_

Desperate to make it in time Tenchuu charged towards the downed Hikari.

"Ensnaring sands, fleeting winds, bind yourself to mine enemy and cease his movements," he chanted, thrusting his open palm out towards the target. "Bakudou Thirteen, Earthen Maw!"

Tendrils of earth yet again shot out from the ground, attempting to ensnare the Shinigami's limbs.

_If we can pin her while she's on the ground it's all over!_ He thought, frowning.

* * *

**Uchiwa Hikari**

_Damn, not enough time,_ She thought as the tendrils came up and tied her arms and legs to the ground. Damn, they got me now, I can't get out, Hikari thought while trying to get free of the kidou.

The two assailants closed up on her.

"So, what now?" She asked with a forced grin.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Now that Hikari was restrained, Seigi and Tenchuu took this moment for a much needed breather. They slowly walked up to the trapped Shinigami. Relieved though they were that the fighting was over, they were far from done with her.

"I'm sorry about this, Hikari," Tenchuu told her. He sighed heavily and held his palm out at her. "Really."

"Tenchuu, we've got her, isn't that enough?" Seigi asked him, his guilt getting the better of him. "I thought..."

"The mission was to beat her up," Tenchuu said quickly, cutting his partner off. There was a sinister aura about him, now. "So far we've just given her a cut on her ankle." This began to alert Seigi. Without thinking he rushed in between Tenchuu and Hikari, blocking Tenchuu's line of fire. "What are you doing?"

"Are you sure this isn't you going out of control again?" Seigi asked him, concerned greatly. "I need to know you won't kill her."

"I'm fine," Tenchuu replied, his expression still neutral. "Believe me, you'd know it if I was berserk." There was a brief silence as Seigi considered the situation. He bowed his head, sighed, and stepped to the side.

"You win," he said gravely. "Just don't kill her."

"As if I would," Tenchuu said. His focus moved back onto the immobilised Shinigami on the ground. "Slice open the gaps to Heaven's gateway. Draw the hidden blade. Hadou Nine, Kamaitachi."

* * *

**Uchiwa Hikari**

Her eyes widened as she heard Tenchuu begin to chant after an argument with Seigi. The chant finished and the blades formed around and struck her all over. Her blood poured down from the wounds and mixed with the rain that kept pouring.

_Damn! So this is the hour of my death,_ the girl thought as her consciousness left her.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Tenchuu stood in the rain with his hand outstretched. He breathed in deeply and didn't know what to feel.

"Happy now?" Seigi asked him with a hint of bitterness. "Come on, let's get this poor girl to the Fourth before she bleeds to death."

"You know..." Tenchuu began before Seigi could move. He looked at him with a sinister glare. "For an assassin, you sure are against killing." Those words hit Seigi where it hurt most. His fingers started to twitch, and he eventually closed them into a tight fist.

A second later, Tenchuu was sent soaring through the rain, landing in a deep puddle with a large splash. Seigi could be seen with his his legs spread out and his arm outstretched. His teeth were gritted tightly together and it was unclear whether the water on his face was from tears or rain. He paused for a moment and watched Tenchuu struggle to lift himself from the puddle. His shihakushou and hair were drenched so badly a stream of water poured from it back onto the ground. He began to cough harshly and turned around to face Seigi with a look of pure venom. The rumbling of distand thunder could be heard.

"WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT, JERK?!" He roared, a terrible anger clearly visible on his face. Seigi lowered his arm and his breathing deepened.

"I'm... I'm sorry," he said, covering his face with his hands. "You're right... I'm too soft." Tenchuu rose from the ground, still dripping wet and scorned.

"Didn't seem like it just then!" He snapped, walking slowly over to him. He looked from Seigi to Hikari. "Are we going to get her out of here or what?" It took Seigi a moment to recover, but he nodded in the end.

"Yeah..."

*

The two walked into the Fourth infirmary, still soaking wet. A limp Hikari was laid in Seigi's arms. It was beginning to get dark outside, now.

"This girl had a bad run in with a Hollow," Seigi announced in the hall. "Can someone help?" The staff immediately scattered and shuffled to prepare a stretcher before laying it on the ground before Seigi, who lowered the Shinigami down onto it.

Tenchuu in the meanwhile was preoccupied staring at the various ornaments and decorations in the hall.

_This is where it began,_ he said, stratching the back of his head. _Man... things have just gone downhill ever since I came in here a few days ago. I remember, now! Yutaka's mission!_

"Seigi, I'm going to have to go, now," Tenchuu said, turning to face the exit and hoping Seigi wouldn't say anything. Alas, it was too much to expect from his concerned friend.

"Another sudden disappearance?" He asked, also turning around. "Where are you going?" Tenchuu felt extremely awkward with this question. Would he be able to make up a lie?

"Just..." he began. He paused. He could not think of an excuse. Forsaking his feelings for his friend he dashed out of the door with his high speed.

_Screw this, he'll get suspicious no matter what I do._

"HEY, TENCHUU!" Seigi shouted after him. "TENCHUU!" His words echoed loudly in the halls of the infirmary. He cared not for the negative reaction of the staff, and a single tear began to fall from his eye.

_What is happening to him..._ He thought. He waited a few moments longer to calm himself down before beginning to walk towards the exit.

* * *

**Uchiwa Hikari**

The girl opened her eyes just a little bit, because she had awoken from her sleep by the ruckus and loud voices. _What's going on, where am I? Huh, Seigi?_ Hikari wondered as she looked at where she was now. There were few persons going all over and around her shouting for things like bandages, first aid equipment and such. _This must be the fourth division barracks then, but how did I end up here?_

_I'm glad I get to live on, so I'll just sleep now,_ the green-haired shinigami thought and closed her eyes.


	14. Chapter 12: The Yugameru

Tenchuu ran from the Fourth infirmary with intense speed. He didn't want Seigi to follow him, although the leaving him there without explaining where he was going was making him feel extremely guilty.

_This is really getting stupid, I don't know if I can do this without being found out,_ he thought to himself, frustration getting to him. While he dashed through Seireitei towards the Twelfth headquarters, he pulled another manila envelope from his Shihakushou. Tearing off the top, he took out the letter and photo and scanned them. The letter read:

**_Dear Yokoshima,_**

**_I take it you've terminated the first target. Congratulations. See, it wasn't that bad, killing murderers, was it? Now, about the next target._**

**_He, like the previous target, was recently released from prison, as they could not find evidence to prosecute him. Unlike the previous target, however, he didn't settle in quietly. He attacked and killed another person in the First District and made for a nearby forest. Armed authorities have been searching for him for about a week, and I am assuming that by the time you read this they are still searching in vain. I have had difficulty obtaining his name, but a name will give you little advantage when looking for him in the wild. I hope you will be able to find him before they do, so he can be slain instead of thrown into prison once again._**

**_Good luck, Yokoshima, this time around you will be letting the hearts of two families rest in peace._**

**_Regards,  
Your Cohort_**

**_P.S. After the target has been terminated, please make your way back to my home. The Yugameru should be ready._**

As soon as he read the last line, Tenchuu's sense of guilt and anger was masked by one of curiosity. He had wanted to know from the start from that glowing gauntlet was for, and he was about to get the chance.

He quickened his pace, hoping that the sooner he finished the task the better.

*

It was beginning to get dark now, and the chief of the search party was sat down on the grass just outside the forest in front of several radios, waiting for replies from one of his men to confirm the capture of the target.

"Still not one stupid call," he mumbled to himself, rubbing his face from exhaustion. "I wonder if they'll ever actually find him. How long does it take to find one man? Incompetent idiots..."

Suddenly there was a gust of wind, and out of the corner of his eye the chief could see a black blur race over him and into the trees.

"What the hell..." he began, standing up in shock. He reached for the radio and called in. "An unidentified object just passed through into the forest. Caution is advised. Over."

*

"An unidentified object?" asked one of the officers in a group of five, his tone shaky and anxious. He shone his flashlight from place-to-place, keeping his guard up. "How could it get past the chief like that? I don't like this..."

"Come off it," said a second, his face drooping. "He's made up crap like that before to get us to stop lounging around, so just take no notice." Comforted slightly, the first officer sighed.

"That's good..."

But then the rustling of leaves could be heard behind them, growing louder and louder. The group instantly twisted around and pointed their flashlights into the darkness. However, there was no sign of any movement.

Without warning, a black figure dropped down from above into the middle of them. Before any of the men even knew what had just happened, it pushed them all onto the ground. Extremely frightened, the first officer shone his light in the direction it ran off in just in time to see it run into the darkness again.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" he screamed. "A MONSTER?!"

"Keep your voice down, idiot!" whispered the second one, slowly getting up off the floor. "And no, it looked human-shaped to me."

_But still... hell that was scary..._

*

Yowamushi sat high up in a tall tree somewhere in the heart of the forest, looking out above the canopy to watch the moon. He took in a deep breath and let it out, letting the fresh air flow in and out of his lungs.

_Man, it's good to be free again,_ he thought, stretching. _As if those idiots couldn't get any evidence on me. They must be real thickheads._

Suddenly, the leaves in a nearby tree rustled. Although faint, Yowamushi was startled and stared in that general direction. When he saw no movement he sighed and chuckled to himself.

_Must have been a bird. Stupid..._

Before he even knew what was happening he was pulled off of his branch, one arm around his waist and one hand over his mouth, and dragged down onto the grass below. Looking up he saw an outline of a silhouette, which appeared completely black due to having its back turned to the moon.

Yowamushi screamed as the figure pulled out a sword.

*

Somewhere in the forest, the group of five pressed on, when they heard the blood-curdling scream of a man somewhere in the dark ahead.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Shouted the first officer again.

"Would you be quiet?! For god's sake!!!" Whispered the second officer, slapping his face with his hand.

"But... that was really, really scary," replied the first, edging away from the direction in which the scream came. "Was it the target? Did that black guy find him?"

"I don't know, but we have to go che..." He was interrupted by the sudden passing of a black figure, which cut straight through the middle of them and knocked them all to the floor again.

"Okay! Screw this, we're getting out of here!" Squealed the second officer. "I'm not paid enough for this crap!" The group of five rushed back towards base, arms flailing wildly in the air and screaming as they went.

*

A few hours later, it was extremely early in the morning and the moon was at its highest. A lone Shinigami walked through a garden towards a tall three-storey building. The walls were covered in a pleasant beige colour, which currently appeared white due to the gleam of the moon. The usually lively garden was silent and still, except for the odd chirping of crickets.

He walked up to the giant double-doors and knocked. They creaked open and the Shinigami walked inside.

"Yutaka, I finished the jobs," Tenchuu announced into the long and dark hallway.

"So I heard," came another voice from inside the darkness. In the dimness of some faintly-lit candles, the figure of the corrupt politician could vaguely be seen walking into view. "Reports of a 'man in a black cloak' going around killing people who haven't been convicted. You're being careless, Yokoshima."

"Maybe if you'd give me different targets there might not be such a pattern," Tenchuu retorted, shaking his head. Yutaka's footsteps grew louder as he got closer. "I hear the Yugameru should be ready."

"It is," replied the man. "If you'd like to follow me into my living area, I have it prepared for you to try out." This made Tenchuu frown.

_Try out?_

A few seconds later, Tenchuu found himself walking into a very posh room. The large fireplace crackled with a pleasant warmth, the floor was covered in an assortment on animal-skin rugs, and the walls had various items of great value hung up on it.

"Sit."

Although irritated by the blunt command, Tenchuu did as he was told and sat down in one of the extremely soft armchairs. He leaned back and crossed one leg over his thigh.

"So, where is it?" he asked, growing impatient. "Don't forget, Yutaka, we _aren't_ friends."

"I know, I know," replied the voice of the politician from the corner of the room. "Ah, here it is!" He returned a moment later with the item that had piqued Tenchuu's curiosity over the last week.

A black gauntlet with a glowing, circuit-like pattern on it. However, the glow seemed to have been less intense than before.

"We've finished the final adjustments to suit your style and a fix a few technical glitches," explained Yutaka, handing the object to Tenchuu. "Put it on." Taking the gauntlet, Tenchuu obeyed and strapped the object to his arm. For something so technical in appearance, it was extremely light. "Now, push the button on the underside of the strap." Tenchuu nodded and looked on the underside. There was a small, red button on one of the straps.

The effect was instantaneous, there was a sudden, dull flash of light erupted from the device, covering Tenchuu's entire body, not panicking, he remained sat in the armchair and waited for it to subside. It did so quickly, and when it finished Tenchuu looked down. He was wearing a black garment.

"Go on, look in the mirror," prompted Yutaka, smiling his misleading smile. Rolling his eyes, Tenchuu got up and looked in the mirror next to the fireplace.

"W-w-what the hell?!" He shouted, covering his mouth with his hand in shock. "What is this?!"

"_That_ is Yugameru's effect," Yutaka explained, grinning sickly. "Nice isn't it?"

Tenchuu now appeared to be wearing a floor-length, hooded, black robe with a pair of gloves and some black boots. But that was not what shocked him so. His face was truly horrific. All of his skin was jet black, save for four small lines of white - one went from his lower lip down his neck, one went from the tip of his nose up to his hairline, and the other two went from his eyes to his ears. The guise was petrifying to him.

"If I ever fought someone who looked like this, I'd run away," Tenchuu admitted, still in awe about how frightening he looked. "This is... amazing!"

"It's the result of my spirit power research," Yutaka began, clearing his throat. "It takes in your reiatsu and uses the energy to distort light rays around you. It also monitors your muscle movements and immediately adjusts the image so that when you move the illusion moves with you. That was the tricky part. When you came last time the face was almost completely unresponsive. Also, we adjusted the image it projects to keep in line with the theme you were after. I hope this can become the true guise of 'Yokoshima'."

Tenchuu stood on the spot, testing the gauntlet by flexing his body and watching the illusion follow it flawlessly. He actually looked like a completely different person.

"Look at your zanpakuto, Yokoshima," Yutaka told him. Curious yet again, Tenchuu 'parted' his illusionary robes and grabbed hold of his zanpakuto, pulling from it from its sheath. Once again, he was amazed. It looked nothing like his own. The wrappings were black, the guard had an intimidating tribal pattern, and the entire blunt side of it was serrated.

"Only... there's a few technical problems with Yugameru, still," Yutaka said. Tenchuu turned his head to listen to this bit, figuring it could be important. "It needs a constant supply of reiatsu to power it. We've estimated it'll take about a twentieth of your current power per hour of use. As you grow more powerful as a Shinigami that ought to be less of a problem, though." Tenchuu nodded and waited for him to continue. "Also, you can't shikai while in the guise. We couldn't mask your weapon, as it's unique to you only, no matter what we change they'll still be claws and tendrils. You might as well not disguise them at all." Tenchuu sighed at this part, running his hand down his face from annoyance. "And please keep in mind it only fools the sense of vision. All the others, including spirit power, are the same. It's best not to use this around people you know, unless you want your secret revealed."

Tenchuu stood there staring at the mirror some more. Those were rather small downsides for such a useful tool. He didn't care much, and as long as he took heed of them he'd be fine.

"Is that all?" He asked, turning around to face Yutaka and removing Yugameru. The guise immediately dissipated, and his usual self with regular skin and a Shihakushou returned. "I need to get going before people get even more suspicious."

"Of course," Yutaka said. He fished around in his clothes and pulled out another manila envelope similar to the ones Tenchuu had had previously and handed it to him. "Your last job for this week. Once you've finished it, wait for five days then come back, I should have something new for you."

"Okay," Tenchuu replied, making his ways towards the door to the hall and stuffing the Yugameru inside the backpack he kept his black cloak in. Realising he didn't need that anymore, he took it out of the back and discarded it onto the floor. "There, you can have that back."

"Very well," Yutaka responded neutrally, moving over to it to pick it up. With that, Tenchuu left the building and headed back to the Twelfth.


	15. Chapter 13: A Deepending Despair

****

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Another collab. This time the guest is 'SinOfDream''s Ishikawa Kiyoshi. Definitely worth reading if you like badass evil characters.

* * *

**Ishikawa** **Kiyoshi**

The scout sat in his room, basically doing nothing. He had nothing to do this sunny day, and was bored. Kiyoshi almost fell asleep before noticing the hell butterfly flying into his room. The boy's eyes widened as the butterfly came closer and closer. "What!?"

The butterfly landed on his shoulder and he heard a familliar voice; "Kiyoshi, there's a mission for you, I'll tell you the details. Criminals that had been given new identities are being killed, we discovered a pattern of deaths and noticed one person was always there. There currently is one criminal left, his name is Bureari Rokusho. We order you to investigate him."

Kiyoshi rose from his seat. "Fine."

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Tenchuu laid on his bed, which was beginning to become habit. In his hands he would usually hold a letter with his orders in, but not today. Today, he was more focused on the new piece of equipment Yutaka had given him, the Yugameru. He watched the circuit-like patterns glow. It seemed to ease him a little.

He reached into his Shihakusou and pulled out another sealed manila envelope like those before it. Opening it, he read the contents.

**_Dear Yokoshima,_**

Your target this time is a man known as Bureari Rokusho. Like the others he is a murderer given new identity. You are to take him out. In the knowledge that people are suspicious of a man in a black cloak, I have already took the liberty of having somebody else find his address for you. You will find it enclosed. This will be the last murderer I tell you to kill for now so that the scent is lead away from you. I may position more men with black cloaks to deceive the authorities.

Once he is dead I expect you to return to me for more missions.

Regards,  
Your Cohort

Nodding, he folded up the paper and placed it back inside his Shihakushou. He placed Yugameru on his arms and fastened the straps, hiding it inside his sleeves.

He walked out of the barracks and headed out of the Twelfth division grounds to the First District.

* * *

**Ishikawa** **Kiyoshi**

Kiyoshi took off for the first district of Rukongai. "_Wait... Wasn't that Bureari Rokusho a murderer? Why should someone that has killed so many people, be saved from being killed himself?"_ The Second Division member thought.

Just when he was about to enter the first district's area, there was security keeping him from continuing. "What are you doing here?" One of the guards asked.

"I am Ishikawa Kiyoshi, I am here for a mission, I can not give you further details." The scout smiled kindly.

"Ohh, so you are Kiyoshi huh? Ah well, please pass, we heard about your mission, good luck."

"Thank you."

Kiyoshi finally arrived at the criminal's house, just like the other houses, it was made of stone and coloured beige. The scout calmly knocked on the door.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

The door slowly swung open until it reached about halfway, and then a man poked his head around the side. His eyes were wide and he had heavy bags and wrinkles. It was evident he hadn't been getting much sleep since the deaths of the other two 'suspected' murderers.

"Who the hell are you," he asked shakily and quickly. He noticed the clothing Kiyoshi was wearing. "A Shinigami?" He breathed a heavy sigh of relief as opened the door fully, stepping out into full view. "I'll be perfectly fine, now, thank god you're here."

* * *

**Ishikawa** **Kiyoshi**

"Haha, I see. Yes, you'll be fine." with his thin fingers, Kiyoshi stroke through his hair. "_I hope,"_ he added in his thoughts

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Bureari nodded and cleared his throat.

"Well? What are you here for? You coming in or are you guarding outside?" He asked, scratching his head.

A dark shadow suddenly appeared on the roof of the house next door to Bureari's, watching the scene below. It did not make a single sound, and positioned itself on the opposite sloped side of the roof so as to be difficult to notice.

As it watched it began to calculate and plot a course of action.

**

* * *

****Ishikawa** **Kiyoshi**

"I am here to protect you, and investigate who's behind all the killings," Kiyoshi whispered into Rokusho's ear. He could not say it out loud, if anyone'd find out they would be screwed.

"I don't know if I'm the right man for this job, I mean, this guy or girl has already killed many murderers. I could never have done that, I think..."

"Oh, I see, thank you, thank you very much." Rokusho had a knife hidden in his sleeve, would anything happen, he could pull it out and kill the one. This would be an act of self-defense ofcourse.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

"So basically you're going to wait with me and whenever he attacks you're going to catch him?" Bureari asked as Kiyoshi walked in. He closed the front door and walked into his front room, sitting down on one of the three armchairs. "I'm the bait?" From his tone it was evident he was slightly annoyed by this.

*

The stalker had seen all it needed to see. After getting one last glimpse it retreated and hid in a dark alley...

* * *

**Ishikawa** **Kiyoshi**

"Unfortunately, Rokusho-san, yes. We will have to wait before he or she attacks, if he or she wouldn't, then how could I protect you?" The scout laughed.

The two men waited and waited for the killer to attack, but it didn't. Slowly, the sun disappeared and the sky was coloured a nice purple tint.

"Maaaaan, why can't this killer just hurry up or something." Kiyoshi pouted.

"What!? I would prefer not seeing him at all! It's my life that's at risk you know!?" Rokusho shouted at the scout.

"Right... I'm sorry." The purple-haired boy said. _"Not,"_ He added in his thoughts. Kiyoshi was glad, the man felt fear, fear of death. He was now going through what his victims had also gone through.

Kiyoshi got up. "Still nothing...." he sighed.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

"Hadou number Thirty. Bing Bang."

*

Suddenly, a blast of intense magnitude struck the house, violently shredding it apart. The whole roof collapsed, causing an incredible amount of debris and flames to fall down upon the two inside. A fire the size of a large statue erupted in the remains of the house.

The security outside the house had their blades drawn the moment the explosion took place, burying the Bureari and Kiyoshi in the debris.

"KIYOSHI!" One of them bellowed! "WHAT THE HELL?!"

Suddenly, both of them were silenced as their throats were slit open from behind.

* * *

**Ishikawa** **Kiyoshi**

Kiyoshi could not react to the falling stones that crushed Rokusho and was hit by wood of the roof. The scout heard the guards' screams before their throats were slit. The waiting was over, there he is.

"Crap...." Kiyoshi pushed up the wood from the roof and stared at the men in the black coat, the killer dashed over other roofs and the scout started his pursuit. "Hey! Come here!" Kiyoshi shouted before chanting, "Converge light into spaces of darkness..."

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

It seemed that the figure knew it was being followed, as it instantly twisted around in mid-jump.

Suddenly, with a near-shunpo speed it flew at Kiyoshi and swung a sword down onto him.

Now that the assailant from in clear view, he appeared to be wearing black, hooded robes and a pair of gloves, which clutched onto a rather intimidating sword with black wrappings and a golden, tribal-themed guard. The blunt end of the katana was serrated. His face, however was the most interesting feature of all.

His face was completely black, as if wearing some kind of ritualistic makeup. Four white lines stretched across his face, one from his lower lip down to his neck, one going from his nose up to his hair-line, and two coming from his eyes to his ears.

His mouth widened into a sickly grin.

* * *

**Ishikawa** **Kiyoshi**

Before the scout could finished, the assassin shunpoed towards him and cut down at Kiyoshi. The blades clashed, the boy had just blocked it just in time. "_What the hell..."_ The Second Division member thought. The man's appearance was far from normal, he looked like a demon.

Kiyoshi jumped back and stared at the murderer and his blood-red eyes stared back. The scout started mumbling, "Converge light into spaces of darkness, Hadou #4, Byakurai!" A beautiful white beam of lightning shot out of the users finger and raged towards the assassin.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

As if recognising the incantation, the assassin literally threw himself backwards before the kidou was fired. He did a rather odd backwards roll off of the roof, making the Byakurai whizz over him harmlessly.

A second later he jumped up - it seemed he had grabbed hold of the roof as he fell and pulled himself back up.

When he landed, he didn't attack straight away, but instead shoved his sword's hilt in his armpit and clapped his hands repeatedly, as if applauding Kiyoshi.

"I have to say I didn't think anyone would survive that," he said in a low-pitched, harsh voice. "Then again, what should I expect from a Shinigami?"

In less than a second he suddenly pulled his blade from his armpit and flew at Kiyoshi again, attempting a horizontal slash at his chest.

"But sadly I'll have to kill you, now."

* * *

**Ishikawa** **Kiyoshi**

"Why are you applauding?!" The Second Division member shouted to the assassin.

The man in the long, black coat disappeared and re-appeared before Kiyoshi, his long, silver katana reached to cut the scout down. Noticing this attack, the purple-haired boy jumped back. The katana had still cut him, but by jumping back, he had avoided fatal damage. "_He's strong...."_

Blood dripped down from the wound and fell to the ground, leaving a dark-red spot. "That speed... Also, that explosion, that must've been kidou..." Kiyoshi mumbled. "Hey you, are you a shinigami!?" The boy shouted as he gripped the navy-blue hint of his zanpakuto's hilt tighter.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

The assassin seemed slightly taken aback when Kiyoshi asked him about being a Shinigami. He recovered quickly, however. He grinned and chuckled in a creepy fashion and stared at Kiyoshi with his evil, red eyes.

"Yes," was his simple reply. "I'm a Shinigami. And I was applauding you because you've managed to keep me entertained."

Tilting his head to his left and cricking his neck, he took in a deep breath.

"Hadou Seventeen, Dragon's Breath," he recited, and a suddenly wave of fire erupted from his mouth, headed in Kiyoshi's direction.

* * *

**Ishikawa** **Kiyoshi**

The fire approached him. Kiyoshi started chanting; "Converge light in places of darkness, hadou #4, Byakurai!" He pointed his thin finger at the man in the long, black cloak and a white beam of lightning flew through the fire, charging at the assassin.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

The Byakurai shot through the flames and obviously caught the assailant off guard, because it hit him square in the chest, knocking him backwards and landing flat on his back.

At about the same time the flames reached Kiyoshi's location.

"ARGH!" He shouted, clutching his chest. However, when he removed his hand, he saw that there was no wound at all. He slowly pulled himself up, laughing as he did so.

"I may feel the pain," he said, wincing, but grinning nonetheless. "But you cannot harm me."

* * *

**Ishikawa** **Kiyoshi**

The fire engulfed Kiyoshi and he was burned everywhere but his face. After the fire was gone, his clothes were still burning, the scout put them out as quickly as he could and then faced the assassin.

"W-what!? It didn't harm you!? How is that possible... I hit you!" Kiyoshi shouted as he started feeling, 'his good old friend', fear.

**

* * *

****Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

The man in black let out an almighty roar of laughter at Kiyoshi's words.

"Maybe I'm not normal..." He said, lowering his head so his eyes were covered by his hood.

He used his tremendous speed to appear in front of Kiyoshi once again and swung his sword, but this time deliberately so that the Shinigami could block it.

"I'm Yokoshima," he told Kiyoshi, revealing his demonic red eyes again. "And I'm taking you down."

He suddenly jumped back again and pointed his hand at his target.

"Bakudou Thirteen, Earthern Maw!" He recited, and four massive tendrils of stone shot out from the roof and attempted to wrap themselves around Kiyoshi's limbs.

* * *

**Ishikawa** **Kiyoshi**

Not knowing what the spell would do, Kiyoshi was found off guard. The four tendrils of stone shot out of the roofs, wrapped themselves around the scout's limbs and held him there.

"What!?" Kiyoshi shouted and struggled to get out off the grip of his opponents bakudou spell. "Why do you kill these peoples?" The purple-haired boy shouted. "Answer me! Tell me why!" He was tired, his reiatsu was almost fully used up by his kidou spells. He could not do anything.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Yokoshima threw his head back and laughed, making his hood fall down and revealing his long, black, messy mop of hair.

"Because they're all vampires who feed of the incompetance of the justice system," he replied, gazing at Kiyoshi with a look of madness in his red eyes. "Wouldn't you agree?"

He took his sword and slung it over his shoulder, tilting his head to one side

"Now, before I let you go, what is your name?" He asked, grinning widely.

* * *

**Ishikawa** **Kiyoshi**

"Yes...." Kiyoshi had to agree he thought the same way this... 'guy' did.

"Why do you think I would tell my name to a murderer like you? Basically, you are just as bad as the people you have killed!" The scout shouted at him

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

Sighing, Yokoshima shook his head and pulled his sword back from over his shoulder, taking it in both hands.

"I was hoping you'd see things from my point of view," he said, looking bemused. "Call me a murderer if you want, all those criminals got what was coming to them. In the end, that's all that matters. If I wanted to look like a hero I wouldn't look like this, would I? Now... if you won't tell me your name... remember this..."

Without warning, he suddenly swung his sword down on Kiyoshi's chest, leaving a massive vertical gash.

"Remember that pain, because if you ever say my name to anyone I will go to the Second division, find your name on its roster, and have a price put on your head," explained the sinister assassin, chuckling. "And your death will hurt ten times as bad as this, I assure you. Now, one last thing."

He made another slash at Kiyoshi, this time at his legs, cutting his knees open.

"That is so you can't follow me, heh," he commented, winking. "Now, I'll be going. Too bad you couldn't stop me, Shinigami."

* * *

**Ishikawa** **Kiyoshi**

Kiyoshi screamed out of pain at the two cuts. Blood splurted out of the wounds and hit the clothes of the assassin.

"WAIT!" The scout said, still struggling with the binding spell. However, the scream is the last what he did, for his eyes had slowly closed. He was unconcious due to loss of blood.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

When the blood splashed the assassin it left no mark on his clothes at all, it was as if the blood never existed. Smiling again at this, Yokoshima watched as Kiyoshi lost conciousness. He held his hand out at the tendrils of stone and suddenly flicked his wrist away from it, and the stone fell apart, allowing the scout to drop. Unfortunately, the limp body slid off the roof and onto the ground below, where several people were beginning to cluster due to the massive ruckus.

Without another word, the man grinned at the people below, revealing his demonic face to them. A few of them screamed, others looked at him in horror.

With that, he disappeared from sight into the darkness.

* * *

**Ishikawa** **Kiyoshi**

When the scout woke up, he found himself lying in a bed. He didn't know where he was. Kiyoshi looked around. The walls were from stone and were coloured beige. When he tried to get up, a huge pain shot through his chest, only then he noticed he was bandaged up.

"Ouch..." the Second Division member said. He looked at his arms, there were scars and wounds. Only then he had reminded his fight with the man in the black coat. "That demon..." Kiyoshi mumbled. "He had a byakurai fired right at his chest, but no wounds at all... He's not normal..." the scout continued. Wood fell on his back, he was engulfed in flames and cut up. _"Yet... Why didn't he kill me when he had the chance to?"_

"O-oh, you're awake!" an old men with no hair on his head and green eyes looked shocked, but then smiled as if he was relieved. "Thank goodness, you're still alive. We thought you would die." The bald man said happily and smiled.

"Were you the one to take care of me?" Kiyoshi asked curiously.

"Yes, that person was me. I saw how you tried to safe Rokusho and also revenge him after he..." the old man stopped for a second before continuing, "Died."

"Thank you. I am sorry that I couldn't save nor revenge him." The Second Division member sadly looked at his arms. "I honestly, am sorry for your loss."

"Yes... Rokusho and I were friends, and I was the only one to believe his innocence. I could say I was the only one that believed the truth. He had never killed anyone. Rokusho was set up by another criminal and has been called a criminal ever since," the bald man started telling, as if it was a story.

"I see... Well, it's about time that I should leave to report back to Seireitei," Kiyoshi said and stood up. He put on his clothes and ignored the old man's protests. "Say, what is your name?"

"Utebachi Sora. B-But please don't leave yet, you have not fully recovered ye--" Sora said but was cut off by Kiyoshi.

"Utebachi Sora... Huh? I will be sure to remember that name and send you something to thank you for your help. Also, I am sorry, but I must leave now." The purple-haired boy walked out and closed the door behind him. Kiyoshi took off for Seireitei.

* * *

**Kuromeiun Tenchuu**

"So... you did it?" came Yutaka's voice from down the long, posh hallway.

"Didn't you think for ONE moment that a Shinigami might come after me?!" Tenchuu roared, his face red. He charged up to the politician and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. "Didn't you think that I'd get noticed doing three of the same missions?!"

"I did," Yutaka replied simply, seemingly undeterred by Tenchuu's threat. "But I also knew you'd be able to handle it. I read the eyewitness reports. If you'd've killed him in that initial explosion you could have killed him right there. Obviously you underestimated the enemy."

"Enemy?!" Tenchuu screeched in Yutaka's face, spit flying all over him. "He's a _Shinigami_! I was scared as hell throughout the whole fight! I was _this_ close to being discovered!" Suddenly, he winced at a pain in his chest and clutched it, letting Yutaka loose. "Crap... that Byakurai got me good..."

"Still, looks like you made use of another one of Yugameru's little perks," Yutaka said, straightening his white suit. "We didn't add a program that shows damage, so it appeared like any attack would simply pass through you and leave you unaffected. I trust that scared the enemy?"

"Stop calling him the enemy!" Tenchuu shouted, bent over double and breathing heavily. "And yes, he had no idea what I was. He probably thought I was some kind of monster with Shinigami powers or something. I didn't approve of scaring him and acting so... evil, but I had to make sure he wouldn't want to have an encounter with me again."

"Well nevermind, I'll give you a week to lie low," Yutaka told him, turning his back to the exhausted assassin. "I don't really have anymore jobs for you at the moment. Help yourself to bandages for that wound on the way out, I doubt you want the Fourth asking you for too many details. Come back in a week and I might have some more for you."

"You!" Tenchuu blasted through gritted teeth, looking up at him, still bent over. "Telling me what to do like you own me! I'll kill you one of these days! I'll kill you!!!"

"And when that happens my men will see to it your secrets are exposed," Yutaka replied, not even looking back at the raging Shinigami. He disappeared from sight down the corridor.

"SCREW YOU!" Tenchuu cried, dropping down to the floor and slamming his fist into it, hoping it might relieve his anger. A single tear dropped down his face as he crawled over to the table with the first aid kit.


	16. Chapter 14: One Step Closer

It was dawn, and the members of the Twelfth division were already up and rushing around, preparing for missions, or even some free time. But for one divisioner it was the _end_ of his day.

Tenchuu slumped through the gates into the grounds, dragging his feet along the path towards the barracks. He was extremely exhausted and emotionally drained from the long night before, and his only desire was to sleep it all off like a bad dream. But it wasn't quite meant to be.

"Oi!" shouted a voice nearby. Tenchuu slowly turned his head to see who it was. "Where have you been?! I haven't seen you since you ran off from the Infirmary!" Recognising the speaker, Tenchuu groaned and looked away.

"Seigi, just beat it..." he moaned, continuing on to the barracks, and bed.

"Oh no, you don't..." Tenchuu felt a sudden force grab his shoulder, pushing him hard and dragging him from the path to the barracks.

"What are you doing?!" Tenchuu roared as his hand shot up to grab Seigi's in an attempt to prise it away. "Let go!" The pair came to the walls near the division's Tea House, and Seigi slammed his friend into it. Dazed and overwhelmed, Tenchuu slumped down onto the ground, letting Seigi tower over him.

"Where have you been disappearing off to?!" Seigi demanded. From his voice, Tenchuu could tell he was serious. He looked up at him, and saw fast-approaching violent urges in his face. "Well?!"

_Crap... this isn't good. He won't let me go until I tell him,_ the downed Shinigami thought. Looking around, he saw many of the divisioners were staring at them, some with interest, some with shock, and some with disgust. _The longer I take to answer, the more suspicious I'll look not only to Seigi, but to the rest of them, too..._

"Tenchuu, for god's sake what are you hiding?!" Seigi bellowed, grabbing Tenchuu by the scruff of the neck, pulling him up, and crushing him against the wall.

_Looks like... I can't dodge him any longer... I need to lie..._ Tenchuu thought, letting his head drop.

"Fine, I'll show you," he said, giving up. "But... in private." Tenchuu could feel Seigi's shaking fist on his chest. After a few moments' silence, the grip loosened and Tenchuu dropped to the floor on all fours, coughing and spluttering.

"Alright," Seigi said simply. "Show me."

*

Tenchuu and Seigi walked in silence, away from the Twelfth grounds. They were heading into the nearby woods, and Tenchuu kept his reiatsu senses sharp to see if any curious divisioners were following. Eventually the pair arrived at a clearing, where the orange sunrise shone down and lit up the grass. Seigi stopped at the edge, but Tenchuu continued to walk into the centre.

"Truth is," Tenchuu began, taking a deep breath. "Well... remember that time we fought Hakkyou, that crazed Seventh guy?"

_I need to really think up a good excuse here... But I don't have one. I'm thinking this up as I go along..._ he thought, looking down.

"Yeah," Seigi answered, folding his arms. "The one you nearly killed."

"Yeah, yeah," Tenchuu continued, ignoring the comment. "Well... truth is... he caught me off my guard, and he nearly killed me because I wasn't ready to fight him."

_I'll have to tell him about my shikai... seems like a good excuse... training in secret, afraid it would make us split up. I was originally going to do it anyway, but Yutaka got involved..._

"So that's what this is?" Seigi said, frowning and unfolding his arms. "You're ashamed of him nearly beating you, so you hide away here and train? Is that it?!" Tenchuu turned to face him, and saw that Seigi looked shocked and perhaps even disgusted. "You've closed up on me because you're ashamed of admitting to me you lost?!"

_Looks like he thought up an excuse for me himself,_ Tenchuu thought, listening to Seigi intently. If anything he was relieved. _I didn't have to show him my shikai after all._

"Tenchuu, what the hell?!" Seigi shouted, walking towards him in a rather threatening manner. "You're not like this! You've never been so weak as to mope because of a defeat! Sure, the training is fine; I can understand you wanting to get stronger, but the shame?! It's pathetic!"

"Seigi, I thought you'd understand," Tenchuu said, faking an element of sadness to play along. "I..."

"It's your rage problem, isn't it?" Seigi said. He came closer and closer, his body language still showing anger. "That's where this insecurity has come from, isn't it? I thought I already told you I'd be with you to control that!" Seigi was very near now, and Tenchuu braced himself for a punch. "You idiot! There's nothing to worry about! You don't need to be ashamed, or scared of failure! You're so stupid!" He was right in front of Tenchuu now, and Tenchuu waited for the inevitable. But it never came.

Instead, Seigi pulled him close and held him in a tight hug.

_What... the..._ Tenchuu thought, eyes wide. _What is he doing?_

"But no matter how stupid you're being, you're my friend," Seigi told him, patting his back. "And we've got to stick together through thick and thin. If you want to get stronger, train with me! Let's see if we can get shikai at the same time!" But this did nothing to comfort Tenchuu. On the contrary, it caused his guilt to spiral out of control.

"I... I..." Tenchuu started, as real tears formed in his eyes. "Seigi..."

"It's okay," Seigi told him reassuringly, letting go and taking a step back. "You don't need to say sorry."

_I... This... this isn't fair... I feel so heartless... so cruel... I'm deceiving him so badly... I want to tell him everything... but... I can't..._

"Now, come on, you jerk," Seigi joked, putting him hand on his friend's shoulder. "They've finished interrogating Hakkyou. Yakuin's got a job for us. We're one step closer to Kusemono."

*

An hour or so later they arrived back in the Twelfth, outside Yakuin's office. As per usual, Seigi lifted his hand to knock, but Tenchuu put his hand in the way of the door.

"I'll go in too, this time," he said, looking down and ridden with guilt. "It's my way of saying sorry. I've been a jerk." Seigi was slightly taken aback by this, and it took him a moment for it to sink in.

"I wasn't being serious when I called you a jerk, you know," he replied, shaking his head. "And I said you don't need to say sorry."

_But I'm not a jerk for being ashamed... I'm a jerk for hiding I've done from you... I need to make it up to you..._

"Yeah, well," Tenchuu began, lifting his head up to stare at the ceiling. His hand was still on the door. "I just... need to do this." There was a pause.

"Alright," Seigi agreed. "If you're sure."

*

"Oh! Seigu! Good to see you!" Yakuin said sarcastically from behind his black desk. His eyes caught hold of another man entering the room. "And who's this?"

"Kuromeiun Tenchuu, Sir," Tenchuu replied, standing straight. "Seigi's partner."

"Oh! So finally you show!" Yakuin said, genuinely shocked, but he seemed rather amused. "Well, you've come at a good time - I'm in a good mood. So! Let's get down to it!"

_So this is the goofball Seigi has to put up with?_ Tenchuu thought, unimpressed. For now, he had put aside his other feelings, thinking it best.

"Right! As you know, Hakkyou finally spilled the beans," Yakuin said, clearing his throat. "He wasn't 'exposed' to it like the Ninth divisioner was. He was given it. He was told it'd make him stronger. The naive idiot opened the container, took one whiff of it, and decided it wasn't to be trusted. However... _from_ that one whiff, he was hooked. The Second gathered that this was an experiment by Kusemono's cronies to see how badly it affects people. Anyway! Hakkyou fought his urges at first, but eventually it drove him insane and he turned into the man you fought. He needed more, so he kidnapped a high official, Yutaka, and held him to ransom."

Tenchuu suddenly winced at the mentioning of the politician's name. However, it looked like the other two hadn't noticed. He was lucky.

"Now, he gave us the container, and the Ninth looked it over, this time a little more carefully. This has given us two things. One, the means with which to create an antidote to the addiction. That'll be sorted in a few weeks. Second, the reiatsu signatures of everyone who held it. Besides Hakkyou, we got the details of another guy - the dealer. According to the second he's from a pretty rough area of Rukongai, District Seventy-One. Guess what your job is."

"To capture him for interrogation, Sir?" Tenchuu asked. Seigi's eye twitched as he answered.

"IT WAS RHETORICAL, DUMBASS!" Yakuin blasted, sending spit flying halfway across the room. Tenchuu was soaked in it, but Seigi had comically side-stepped to the side to avoid it. "Don't interrupt me! But yes, you're right. Nab him for questioning. This time, however, you'll be bringing him in _yourself_. I trust you can manage that?"

"Yes, Sir," Tenchuu replied, dripping in spit and very bemused.

"Good, now get lost, you've got a job to do," Yakuin told the pair, gesturing for them to leave.

*

"I've just taken a look at the Second's data. Looks like the Gotei has found you out."  
"What?! You'd better hope you can protect me, for your sake!"  
"Relax, the pair they are sending are no match for me. And I believe I know one of them. Or rather, one of my cohorts does. I know all about him."  
"Good. I don't want to even _see_ them, understood? You're to take care of them before they get anywhere near me, I have a job to do."  
"Oh... but of course... but of course..."


	17. Chapter 15: Gorotsuki and the Crimson

**Chapter 15: Gorotsuki and the Crimson Knight**

It was a dark day at District Seventy-One, the rain pelting down from grey skies onto the already sodden streets below. A damp smell filled the air, and the sounds of splashing water muffled out all other things, trees shaking, people running. The civilians dashed to their slum houses in an effort to keep dry.

Yet a pair of Shinigami sat on a tall rooftop in the rain, crouched down, allowing themselves to be soaked. Water dripped down their faces and off their hair, but it did not seem to bother them. They had a new path to their mortal enemy. And it began with this mission. They would not fail again. Nothing would stand in their way, least of all the weather. If anything, the mist that the damp brought provided cover.

"There's two guards at the front," said Tenchuu, peering over the edge and staring at the front door of a five-story complex. It seemed to match the other buildings - made of wood and scrap material. However, unlike the others, it seemed well-built. This was the location of their target, a 'dealer' of Kusemono's drugs. The words of the informant circled in Tenchuu's mind.

_Hehe, Really big place! 5 levels! Hehehe! Near... hehe... edge of the town... hehe..._

The insane ramblings of the addicted Seventh Divisioner still unnerved Tenchuu, even then, sat on the roof. The damage to Hakkyou's mind was near irreparable. Even if an antidote to the addiction was to be made it still had a few weeks left. By that time he would be brain-dead. The Gotei had ordered his execution, but because of his criminal offences - they weren't his fault. It was the only thing they could do for him, putting him out of his misery. Tenchuu wondered just how many other people had been affected in the same way.

"Okay, then," Seigi said, nodding. "You use Big Bang on the two there and draw the rest of the guards out. Once they're distracted we'll go around the back and climb into a higher tier window."

"Sounds good," Tenchuu agreed, bringing his right hand in front of him and pointing his finger at the men down below. "Get ready to move."

*

A sudden explosion rocked the complex, causing dust to fall down from the ceiling and men to tumble to the ground. Many of them cursed and shouted. After a moment of shock, the whole building began to empty as the guards poured outside into the rain. The carnage outside wasn't too bad - two guards had been injured by the explosion and thrown into puddles. The men frantically twisted their heads in all directions, searching for the cause. They busied themselves with helping the two injured guards inside. The perfect distraction.

The two shinigami held on to the second floor via its window-ledges, shifting along the wall and climbing up, one storey at a time. Seigi grabbed hold of the third floor window and pulled himself up so he could see through the window. Nobody was there.

"We'll need another distraction while I smash the glass," he said. Tenchuu nodded and held out his hand towards a derelict house. "Slice open the gaps to Heaven's gateway! Draw the hidden blade. Hadou Nine, Kamaitachi!" A volley of razor-sharp cuts formed in the air around him and soared towards the building, hacking at the walls. By the time they reached it, however, the wind had dulled, and instead of slicing the wall it banged on it loudly.

Seigi smashed the glass into the complex while the wind did its job, and both the shinigami hurled themselves through the window. Not a moment too soon, as the shouts of the guards could be heard once more as they went to investigate.

"That was fun," Tenchuu remarked, beginning to walk down the dark corridor. "Now let's find some stairs."

*

At the end of the fifth-floor corridor was a single door. It looked like the rest of them, and there were no guards. Although the mission was going extremely smoothly, Tenchuu could not shake the feeling that it was going _too_ easily. Surely a dealer was an important part of Kusemono's organisation, and they'd given him the same amount of defence that an insane drug-addicted kidnapper had managed to pull together. Something wasn't right.

"Seigi, keep an eye out for traps, I don't like this," he muttered as he crept towards the door. The dealer was probably behind it. Seigi nodded behind him and his eyes flickered about the corridor, looking for anything unusual.

"I don't see anything," Seigi whispered, his voice shaky. "I agree, this is weird." The pair continued forwards until they reached the door. "What, what's that?" He pointed towards a node-like metal object on the wall next to the door. It didn't look active at all. Seigi crept up to it and studied it closely. "Well, only one way to find out if it's a trap or not."

Tenchuu nodded and reached out for the handle, closing his fingers around it. This was it. He nodded to Seigi and held up three fingers on his other hand. Seigi understood. Three. Two. One.

The door flung open and the two shinigami thrust themselves inside, zanpakutos drawn. Nothing. There was no-one in here, just a bunch of papers on a desk in the far corner. Tenchuu steadily walked towards it and noticed a particular piece of paper. He reached out to pick it up.

Something suddenly sparked into life - the room lit up and the walls glowed a bright yellow. They'd sprung a trap.

"Crap!" Tenchuu cried as he turned for the door. But the doorway too was glowing yellow, as if there was some form of barrier. He didn't dare touch it. "I think it's some kind of kidou! We're trapped!"

"Let's just see about that," Seigi said, charging towards the doorway and swinging his blade. He was met with a sudden jolt of electricity that coursed through his body and flung him across the room. He landed hard on the wooden floor.

"Seigi!" Tenchuu shouted, rushing to his side. "You okay?"

"Yeah," his partner replied through gritted teeth. "But unless we figure something out, we're not getting out of here."

"Heh, looks like you feel for the trap, after all! Our boss said you would," said a voice at the doorway. The trapped shinigami twisted their heads to see who it was. It looked like a guard from the floors below. He was sitting down in the corridor near the door, grinning and chuckling away.

"Oh, yeah? Well we're getting out of here, and when we do we're going to kick your sorry ass," Tenchuu snapped, pointing his zanpakuto at the newcomer.

"Well you'd better do it quickly, you'll run out of air in a few minutes!" He replied, laughing loudly and coldly. "That barrier makes the room airtight!"

"Crap!" Tenchuu cursed, snarling. He frantically looked everywhere in the room, hoping that something would help in an effort to escape. "What do we do?!"

"Find out what's causing this barrier," Seigi responded calmly, struggling to his feet. "We might be able to disable it if we can."

"Oh, you mean this thing here?" Retorted the guard at the door. He was pointing towards something on the wall at the side of the door - the object the two had decided to ignore.

"Shoot... so that was a trap, after all," Seigi muttered angrily.

There was silence after that as the shinigami attempted to think up an escape plan. It was broken only by the occasional chuckle from the guard outside, reminding them of their impending doom. Over time other guards appeared and sat with him, them too laughing and jeering at the helpless prisoners as if it was some kind of show. Tenchuu decided the only way to get out was to break the kidou. He tried desperately to recall something... anything from the shinigami academy that might have helped teach him how to dispel kidou which originated from a device. Then a sudden thought struck him.

"Wait, I just remembered something! The laws of kidou distribution!" he said out loud, turning to Seigi excitedly. The men outside the room fell quite, frowned, and listened intently.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Seigi asked, bewildered.

"The kidou is strongest wherever it originates," Tenchuu explained, pointing at the device near the door. "But the amount of energy decreases the further away it is." He lifted his zanpakuto up and pointed it at the corner wall near the desk. Seigi smiled in agreement.

"It's no use! You can't get out! You might as well kill yourselves with those swords," shouted the guard closest to the doorway. The men had started to sense danger from the death gods and stood up, cracking their knuckles. Without warning, Tenchuu bolted for the desk and swing his sword at the wall as hard as he could, pushing as much kidou energy as possible into his hands to fight the shock effect.

"What the..." the guard mumbled. "Hey! Hey, you there! Give it up!" This only fuelled Tenchuu to push harder, but he was running out of kidou energy and started to sweat. Finally, a section of the kidou wall seemed to short-circuit and disappear. Tenchuu wasted no time in starting his next step.

"Slice open the gaps to Heaven's gateway! Draw the hidden blade. Hadou Nine, Kamaitachi!" Tenchuu recited, holding his hand out at the exposed wall. The sickle-like winds hammered the wall and sliced it repeatedly, eventually creating a whole large enough for the shinigami to jump through.

"WHAT?!" The guards barked, and they made a sudden dash for the kidou device on the wall in an attempt to disable it. They were going to try and get inside. But it was too late - by the time the kidou wall was down, Tenchuu and Seigi had charged through the hole in the wall and into the streets below.

"THEY'RE HEADING SOUTH!" one of the guards shouted, and the group ran out of the room.

*

"Man, that was close, I guess they were expecting us," Seigi said as the two ran through the rain, down many roads and streets, heading in random directions. They had to put as much distance between them and the complex as possible. "But now we have no idea where the dealer is..." In response, Tenchuu chuckled, much to Seigi's confusion. "Huh?"

"Yes we do," Tenchuu told him, reaching into his shihakushou and pulling out a piece of paper, waving it around. "I took this off the desk before the trap sprung. The dealer didn't seem to care if we read it. The information wouldn't have been helpful if we had died in there, after all."

"So where are we going?" Seigi asked with a new vigour.

"Our favourite old forest."

*

Some time later Tenchuu and Seigi had dashed through Rukongai at high speed and into the forest on its outskirts. The tall canopy acted as a shield against the relentless rain, for which the assassins were grateful. They stood in front of a waterfall, a torrent of water gushing off of the rocks and into the raging river below.

"He said it behind the waterfall. I think it's this one," Tenchuu explained, taking a few steps into the river. The water was so cold it stung, but he didn't show it. "Come on." The two shinigami walked into the water until it came up to their waists. It sent chills up both their spines and they shivered violently. They hugged the edge of the river, where the current was weakest. They may have been shinigami, but they were no match for the flow of a thrashing river.

They made it to the plunge pool of the waterfall and pushed through the dropping water. What they saw on the other side was quite curious. A cave. It stretched on as far as they eye could see through the earth into total darkness. Tenchuu and Seigi looked at each other, smiled and pulled themselves out of the water and into the cave.

*

They crept through the cave for a while. Tenchuu had used Big Bang, but kept it in his left hand, so that it acted as a torch. Its light illuminated the walls of the cave. Eerily, like in the complex, there were no guards. Remembering the predicament the two had gotten into, they upped their focus, and kept their eyes peeled for anything suspicious. They would not overlook it this time, no matter how small.

Time went on and nothing happened. Oddly, however, there was a slight breeze in that part of the cave. Tenchuu doused his kidou and looked for other sources of light. There weren't any. The pair were left in total darkness. There was no place the wind could have started.

_That's odd... where's the wind coming from? I don't like this at all._

"Seigi, you'd better watch out," Tenchuu said. He waited for his teammate's reply, but it never came. "Seigi?"

Silence.

_Oh, crap, this can't be good!_

"Break the dragon's jaw, little firestar. Hadou thirty, Big Bang," Tenchuu whispered, and the ball of energy once again formed in his left hand, lighting up the cave again.

Seigi was on the floor, tied together by several ropes and gagged with a cloth.

"Seigi!" Tenchuu cried, rushing to his side. "What the hell happened?! Don't worry, I'll get you out!"

"Well, that was easy enough," said a voice behind him. Tenchuu wheeled around, startled, and drew his zanpakuto with his spare hand. There stood a man, half masked by shadow. He had cold, grey eyes and short, black hair. One of his most notable facial features was his thick, black beard and the scar down his right eye. His body was of a slim build. But there was something extremely peculiar about him.

He was wearing a shihakushou.

"You're a shinigami?" Tenchuu asked. He flicked his Big Bang into the air and let it hover over the ground, lighting the whole section of the cave. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Following orders," the man replied, grinning in a sinister manner. This unnerved Tenchuu further. "Oh, and don't worry. Not the Gotei's orders. My boss'." This started to ring alarm bells in Tenchuu's mind.

"Oh yeah, who would that be? One of Kusemono's dealers, by any chance?" he questioned, taking his sword into both hands and preparing for a fight.

"You needn't know anything else," was the simple answer of the assailant. "My instructions are to kill you both. You've reached the end of the road, Kuromeiun." With that he clutched the zanpakuto at his side and pulled it from its sheath. Tenchuu's eyes widened.

"What the... how do you know my..." he started, but before he could finish his sentence, the foe had sprung from where he stood and charged towards him. Watching his movements, Tenchuu foresaw a horizontal slash, and held his sword vertically. It was the right call, and both blades clashed loudly.

"I know all about you," the assailant told him. "The kidou you use, your fighting style... hell I even know you have a shikai." Tenchuu couldn't believe what he was hearing. Nobody except he, Yutaka and Hakkyou had witnessed the scene where he had first released. One of the two must have leaked the information.

*

_S-shikai? He had shikai all this time, and he didn't even tell me?_ Seigi thought as he lay on the ground, struggling helplessly against his bonds. _The bastard! Why would he hide that?!_ He noticed Tenchuu look back at him with concerned eyes. Apologetic eyes. They weren't enough. _First the training and now this?! What the hell else have you been hiding from me?!_

The assailant withdrew his sword from the clash and flipped over backwards, holding his hand out at Tenchuu.

"Hadou Four, Byakurai," he spoke. A white flash pierced the air as a bolt of kidou energy soared towards the shinigami. Tenchuu pounced to the right as soon as the incantation finished, making the lightning shot miss and hit the ground. But the enemy wasn't finished there. He suddenly appeared behind Tenchuu, his sword primed for a stab. Seigi felt like screaming out, but he couldn't. He was helpless.

There was another collision of metal - Tenchuu had turned around just in time to parry the attack.

"It'll take more than that," he said, smiling confidently.

"Indeed it will," retorted the foe, who suddenly applied more force to the crossing of the two swords. Seigi knew why. He saw that the Big Bang was floating right behind Tenchuu. The enemy was trying to push him into his own kidou. Tenchuu seemed to know this, too, as he desperately pushed back. But the gap between his back and the ball of energy was thinning.

"Oh... no... you don't..." Tenchuu growled through gritted teeth. Seigi could tell he was pushing with all his might.

"Hadou One, Shou," the rogue shinigami said.

There was a massive explosion that violently shook the cave, causing a few small rocks to fall from the ceiling. The three were thrown back into total darkness now that the light source had gone. Seigi was extremely worried about what had just happened to his partner.

There was a sudden scraping sound and a light appeared out of nowhere. Seigi could see the assailant clearly. He seemed to be holding a flare. White light emitted brightly from it. He tossed it to the ground in the middle of the section of the cave. Out of the corner of his eye Seigi could see a body, now. Was it Tenchuu's?

"You're not done yet, surely?" mocked the foe. "You put up a much better fight against Hakkyou."

"Screw you..." came Tenchuu's weak voice. Seigi could see his body begin to move and stand up. His movements were sluggish. That attack had taken a lot out of him. Seigi wasn't sure he could fight back.

"You aren't going to release?" said the enemy shinigami. Seigi could see him grin and twirl his zanpakuto in his fingers. "You won't win as you are, now. Look at you, all messed up." Seigi struggled and cranked his head as hard as he could to see Tenchuu. His shihakushou was badly torn, and he had some really painful-looking burns. And that was just his front. It was his back that caught the force of the attack. It was a miracle he was still standing.

"Have it... your way..." he said, panting heavily.

*

The shinigami lay in the beautiful silvery field, watching the clouds of the lilac sky pass by. The grass shivered in the cool breeze.

"You called?" asked a woman's voice. Tenchuu looked to his right and a shining silver wolf walked out of the tall grass. It elegantly trotted towards him and sat by his side.

"Yeah," Tenchuu replied simply. "I need your help again."

*

The shinigami slowly outstretched his arm with a great deal of effort. He felt heavy and tired. But he had to fight. If he didn't, both he and Seigi were dead.

"Scratch and scar... Shiruba!" He cried.

A blast of silver light erupted from the zanpakuto for the second time. The air was filled with static and rushing air muffled out every other sound. When it subsided, Tenchuu was no longer holding a sword.

He was now wearing a pair of black gloves, with black ribbons going up his arms over his shihakushou sleeves. On the left glove, long metal tendrils were attached to Tenchuu's fingers; and on the right there were three blades attached to his knuckles.

"So this is it?" asked the foe. Tenchuu saw him standing as confident as ever, smiling as usual. Unlike Hakkyou, he was completely unphased by the appearance of his shikai. "How interesting. Very unique, indeed."

Tenchuu's eyes flickered to Seigi, who was staring wide-eyed at the weapons that his partner now wielded. The shinigami gave him a slight nod and then focused on the enemy once more.

"However, you might be surprised to hear that I have one, too," he said. Tenchuu growled and slowly spread his legs apart. Even that was painful. But he needed to stop the foe from releasing, or the fight could have gotten out of hand very quickly. Ignoring his pain, Tenchuu bolted forwards and slashed at the rogue with his left-hand tendrils. But something wasn't right. The shinigami wasn't there anymore. Tenchuu's attack struck the wall.

"What the..." he mouthed as he twisted around. "Was that flash-step?!"

"Pierce his heart, Kurenai Naito!" said the foe, who was standing several metres away, grinning.

"Crap!" Tenchuu cried as a bright-red light flashed from the rogue's zanpakuto, blinding him. He'd let him release. Tenchuu couldn't believe he pulled Flash Step off just at the right time to confuse him and buy some time. The light seemed to shine for a few more moments, before dissipating. The shinigami opened his eyes.

The enemy was holding with seemed to be a black and red halberd. Except it had four blades on the end instead of one, making the tip appear like a mace. Not only that, but the shaft extended _past_ the halberd blades and ended in a sharp tip. This weapon was a halberd, mace and a lance in one. Tenchuu stared at it in awe. The shinigami himself was now clad in a pair of pauldrons which sat securely on his shoulders. They were both made of a dark-red metal and had spikes jutting out of the sides. They looked rather intimidating to Tenchuu.

"Now, it's time to take you down," the assailant said, twirling his weapon in his hands confidently. Tenchuu decided he wasn't going to achieve anything staring in disbelief and being scared. He stood up straight, ignoring his screaming back, and looked the enemy in the eye with a fierce passion.

"By the order of the Gotei you are to be silenced," he said, priming his arms for an assault. "Traitor." This was met by a bout of laughter from the rogue.

"So you've got your game face on," he jeered, his smile widening. "This is where the real battle begins."

The two simultaneously charged at one another, every footstep echoing loudly in the cave. The hearts of both fighters beat extremely fast.

This would be a fight to the death.

*

"There's an awful lot of racket going on down that corridor," said a man in a long white coat. He was stood at a desk, watching the contents of a conical flask bubble ferociously on top of the bunsen burner and tripod. "I thought you said this man could take care of them."

"He can," said another in a black leather jacket and sunglasses. "These two aren't pushovers. But Gorotsuki can handle them, no problem. I have reassurance from the big guy himself."

"Who, Kusemono-Sama?" asked the scientist in the white coat.

"No, the _other_ big guy," explained the dealer, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a cigarette. "He's told me that he's got plans. _Big_ plans. He says if everything goes to plan we're all going to be untouchable. All he needs is a bit of time."

"Time to do what?" asked the scientist, straightening his glasses. He grabbed a thermometer and stuck it into the flask, observing the temperature. "I'm getting tired of being stuck in here. I want a proper lab, already."

"Oh, believe me, he's already doing it," the dealer said, lighting the cigarette and drawing a long breath. "It's just a matter of time before he gets what he wants. And when he does nothing will stop him."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Epic cliffhanger! I suppose I'll leave it there and make a couple more filler chapters =P


	18. Filler Chapter 3: Revamped Training

**Akimoto Senesati**

_And here we are once again..._ the sultry female's soft voice echoed in the nobleman's head. _Let's hope this guy grasp the basics this time._

The long haired assassin whipped his head in the direction of neatly garbed shinigami. He then took a couple of steps in Seigi's direction. "Being as though you've seen the demonstration of the Sentekiou technique, Seigi, I will skip the introduction and let you attempt to pick up from where we left off _that_ day," he said in a monotone manner. "Unless," he had interjected "you have _forgotten_ all I've told you in such a short time," he concluded narrowing sapphire eyes at the man. The expression was more so to remind the man of how Senesati strongly dislikes having to repeat himself, rather than explaining the technique itself.

The nobleman placed his hands behind his back as he walked passed the unseated member. Senesati paused a moment to recall a discussion about kidou.

_"I can't use it at all," the voice of Segi echoed in the nobleman's head from their prior session._

Senesati released an under breathed sigh and had begun to rethink his words in comparing the technique to that of kidou. He came to a halt, his foot kicked up a small cloud of dust that quickly faded before reaching the height of his shin. With his back to the young assassin the nobleman asked, "Do you posses a shikai?"

* * *

**Shironehan Seigi**

Seigi stood on the same field he had done all those weeks ago, listening intently to the Fourth Seat's words. He hoped that in there he would find clues as to how he was supposed to manage this technique... of course, he was being naive. There were none. Senesati simply spoke at him, quizzing him. He could tell from the shinigami's face that he was annoyed at having to teach him again, but this was a vital part of Seigi's growth, and even Seigi _himself_ knew that. It seemed Senesati did not understand just how embarrassing it was to have to admit his incompetence to an extremely high-seated officer.

"No, Sir," Seigi spoke, bowing his head. "I... I never achieved it. But I do remember all that you taught me." He sighed heavily and summoned the courage to look the officer in the eye. "It's just... I've never been good at anything reiatsu-related, even simple Kidou. I'm not sure if this technique is just... beyond my capabilities altogether. But I need it. Situations in battle can change very quickly."

He frowned and looked down at his feet. He hoped he hadn't overdone it.

* * *

**Akimoto Senesati**

He raised an eyebrow at the youthful assassin. "Such utter non sense," the nobleman immediately replied. "To even speak of a shinigami not to possess a single skill such as shunpo, kidou or even... shikai is simply considered taboo in my presence. Reason being is that the shinigami's being is made up of nothing more than spiritual particles, reiatsu, if you will. So just by living your being has managed its own reiatsu, growing, keeping your body intact and healthy. All you have to do is find the power within yourself, Seigi," he concluded, giving the man sometime to let his words sink in.

Showered by the shadows of the treetops above him; the nobleman faced the young shinigami and said, "Remember, I can only teach you the basics. You will have to learn and discover the full use of the technique on your own."

* * *

**Shironehan Seigi**

Seigi's eyes widened at the nobleman's words. He had never thought of that like that. Soul Society had been his home for decades, and as such all things that made it different from the real world had eventually been pushed to his subconscious. To him Soul Society was physical. It _felt_ physical. Maybe that was the reason he could never quite grasp the concept of Kidou. He hadn't come to terms with the fact that he had to manipulate the very essence of which he was made.

"Yes, Sir," Seigi replied, nodding. "I... think I understand that concept."

* * *

**Akimoto Senesati**

"Good," the nobleman replied as he gazed into Seigi's sunburned eyes. A random breeze soared the area. Shards of emerald grass hissed as the wind briefly lifted the bottom of assassin's hamaka halfway up his bare shin.

"Well then, care to give it another try?" he asked, lifting his armored hand as he turned the session over to Seigi.

* * *

**Shironehan Seigi**

Seigi stood there stumped for a moment, his eye twitching.

_Just like that? Crap..._ he thought. He knew that any attempt as he was now would just fail and embarrass him further. But he had no choice.

Reluctantly, Seigi sat down on the grass and crossed his legs. He tried to relax himself and remember the teachings of last time...

_"Sentekiou, is nothing more than reiatsu redirection like that of kidou energy. Instead of forcing out the spiritual energy you keep it within and then redirect it to the area the energy is needed most. For instance, you may redirect energy to your legs to help you move faster, to your arms to help you attack faster, with more perception, understanding or to provide the right edge to counter an incoming attack. And with a little practice, your use of the technique will flow like water."_

The goal was simple. Seigi's power as a Shinigami is from the very particles he was comprised of. He just needed to transfer the energy from one place to another.

He closed his eyes and thought himself as a mass of energy. No, he still felt physical. That was no good. He needed to relax some more.

Taking in a few deep breaths and listening to the twittering birds of the day, Seigi slowly slid into a more harmonious state of mind. He needed utmost concentration.

Steadily, Seigi tried to will his energy to move around. He felt nothing. Instead of becoming agitated he kept himself calm and tried again.

It took several minutes before Seigi felt any kind of change, and even then it was faint. Extremely faint. But he found it. He'd found his key.

Now he just needed to make sure he used it right.

**[Missing turn here. Basically Senesati told Seigi that he needed to control the reiatsu rather than let it flare out of my body.]  
**  
_Crap,_ Seigi suddenly thought as Senesati instructed him. Unfortunately this caused him to panic, and he lost control of the reiatsu. He could no longer feel any energy.

"Ah, crap," he cursed, placing his head in his palms. "If I can only barely control it when concentrating how am I supposed to use it in battle?! This could take years!"

Seigi noticed something peculiar. He was sweating heavily, little beads dripping down his face and soaking his shihakushou. He moved his arm to wipe some perspiration from his brow, but was surprised to find his arm was heavier than it should be and badly ached.

"What the..." Seigi muttered, realizing every muscle in his body had a dull ache.

* * *

**Akimoto Senesati**

Suddenly a shadow had cast over the panting individual. The young shinigami froze with a shock expression written all over his face as the nobleman stood beside Seigi, looking down at him as he was several inches shorter than the Fourth Seat. The two were in arms reach of each other. "Correction, mastering the technique could take years. All you need to do is to conjure and maintain the reiatsu. From there I would have you demonstrate that you can at least move that same spirit energy to another location of your body, effectively," he explained.

Senesati extended his armored hand to the disciple, who was covered in his own sweat. "Your zanpakutou," he requested with a blank expression.

* * *

**Shironehan Seigi**

Seigi sat there momentarily thinking about the shinigami's words. It seemed he did not need to go overboard, after all. At least, not here. He then pondered over Senesati's request. Why did he need to give up his zanpakuto? Deciding he didn't have time to question his superior's instructions, he unwrapped the sheathed weapon from his robes and held it out for Senesati to collect.

"Here it is, Sir," he said politely, frowning. "Why do you need it?"

* * *

**Akimoto Senesati**

The nobleman relieved the man of his blade without a single word in reply to his inquiry as to _why_ he requested his blade in the first place. Senesati turned his back to the young man and walked serveral paces away from him.

_Such a dull looking blade._ added Ouritsu Tatsujin.

Senesati paused, unsheathed the man's polished katana, and then planted the weapon in the green earth by the tip of the blade. He then turned to Seigi and decided to address the need for the zanpakutou.

"Before I explain the purpose of the need for your zanpakutou, allow me to remind you that I do not like being questioned as to my methods, or my orders for that matter. If you don't like, you may come and retrieve your blade and return to the barracks," he concluded looking to Seigi for his reply, before continuing.

* * *

**Shironehan Seigi**

The shinigami immediately regretted his words. He was sweating in torrents, now, partly from embarrassment, and partly from pressure. His answer was obvious.

"No, Sir!" He responded, shaking his head furiously, deciding Senesati would explain the method himself. "I shall follow your instructions without question, Sir!"

* * *

**Akimoto Senesati**

"Now then, the _purpose_ of this is to help you grasp the concept of _conjuring_ the energy needed to perform Sentekiou. Being as though you do not have any skill with the use of kidou or even a shikai, prompted me to attempt something else. I cannot guarantee that it will work, but it's worth a shot."

The nobleman stood in a shaded area a few feet from Seigi's zanpakutou. "What I want you to do is close your eyes and recall a battle with your most challenging Hollow. Visualize that your opponent has managed to knock your blade from your hands and bound your legs from movement. The only way to defeat the beast is to cut it with your zanpakutou," explained the nobleman. "Bakudou number thirteen, Earthen Maw." A flash of light erupted from the nobleman's unarmored fingertip. The earth near Seigi trembled. Soiled vines whipped at his ankles and clenched the young man legs to match the scenario.

"Now, with your feet bound to the ground, reach for your blade," he concluded.**Shironehan Seigi**

* * *

"What the...?!" Seigi started as his feet were bound with the kidou. The kidou was the same that Tenchuu always used. Yet, it felt stronger. That was to be expected, Senesati being the fourth-seated officer. It was a shock nonetheless.

He listened to the nobleman's words, taking in the information. His most challenging hollow battle? Simple. Seigi took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes...

_Seigi suddenly sprang from the meadow bushes, zanpakuto raised. He charged towards the right side of a huge, mammoth-life hollow. The shinigami heightened his blade even more, going in for a downwards slash. However, a mass of tendrils shot out of the hollow's side... its fur acted as tentacles, each with a mind of their own!_

They caught Seigi off guard, and his sword was sent flying far out of his reach. The tentacles wrapped themselves around his feet and tugged, making Seigi lose his footing. Helpless, he tumbled to the ground with a heavy thud. His only hope was his sword, so he could cut the appendages and free himself. In desperation he reached out for his zanpakuto...

Nothing happened. Not even a tingle.

_Shoot, guess I wasn't psyched enough,_ Seigi thought. He eyed his sword, stuck in the ground. Sighing, the shinigami once more closed his eyes and attempted to picture the events...

_Seigi sprang from the bushes and charged towards the side of the giant hollow, raising his zanpakuto. Suddenly, the tentacles lashed out, knocking his sword out of his hands and pulling him down again. He reached out again. He needed the sword. He was going to lose if he didn't..._

It still wasn't enough. There was nothing. Seigi's muscles ached. His eyes flickered over to Senesati. Could he look him in the eye again if he failed? Would that make him weak? He couldn't be weak.

_He charged at the hollow one more time and was knocked down once more. He was going to lose. No, die. No... worse._

The hollow was going to eat him. His soul would become void of any warmth. Filled with a renewed vigour, Seigi stretched out for his sword... one... last... time...

When he opened his eyes, Seigi looked down at his tingling hand. It was glowing a very faint green. No energy was flailing off of the hand itself. It just... glew.

"I... did it?" Seigi asked himself, watching the wonderful glow slowly disappear into nothing.

* * *

**Akimoto Senesati**

"Now use that energy. Shift it and break free of the Bakudou," the nobleman ordered. "Once you have done this your training here is complete. Congratulations in forming the energy for Sentekiou... Seigi," his voice faintly echoed in the area as he vanished from the scene in a burst of shunpo..

* * *

**Shironehan Seigi**

"Hey, wait, what?!" Seigi cried as Senesati flash stepped out of sight. He simply disappeared. A part of Seigi was jealous of his ability to use shunpo, but the other was irritated by his exit - he'd left Seigi alone to get out of the bakudou! The shinigami was tired as it was. It felt like he'd worked hours of exercise without break. Was this how much using large amounts of spirit energy did to a shinigami? He could hardly move... and he was expected to do that which he had so far failed to fully achieve. But he wasn't going to get anywhere looking at how bad the situation was.

_Guess there's only one thing for it..._ he thought, closing his eyes again...

_He lay on the grass, being dragged ever closer to the gaping mouth of the behemoth hollow. His zanpakuto was far out of reach. If only there were a way to get it..._

Wait.

Maybe he didn't need it after all.

Instead, Seigi focused on his legs. He pulled as hard as he could again the tentacles, struggling to counter their immense power. He could see the mouth of the hollow get bigger as he got closer. In desperation he pulled harder, and harder. His exhaustion was hitting him hard, he hardly had the strength. But he had to pull, he was about to get eaten.

But... it was just pretend, wasn't it? No! That sort of thinking would have failed him! He needed to pull harder!

"AAAAARRRGH!" Seigi wailed as he struggled against the kidou. His legs were glowing green, just like his hands were. Except this aura was brighter. It gave him strength, despite the hindrance of his exhaustion. He tensed his legs as hard as he possibly could...

He felt the bonds loosen.

"Yes!" Seigi shouted victoriously. With new motivation and energy he continued to press against the bakudou, the green aura growing brighter and giving him power.

The earthen tendrils suddenly snapped, sending shards across the field. The kidou withered into raw energy and dissipated into the air. Seigi had won.

In a daze of exhaustion, he slowly staggered towards his zanpakuto, which was still planted in the ground.

"Hah... I beat ya, Sir..." He said, apparently to no one. With an absent and goofy smile he grabbed the handle of his sword... and collapsed. He was left on the grass, now snoozing away.

It may have been a victory this time around, but he still had a long way to go before he could using the infamous signature Division technique fluently.

* * *

**Akimoto Senesati**

The nobleman stood in a treetop. His hair and clothing fluttered in the aerial current as he watched Seigi from a distance away. The Fourth Seat stood proud as job was done. This training was not only difficult for Seigi, but to the nobleman as well.

_You knew that would work all along, didn't you?_ asked Ouritsu Tatsujin.

_No._ he replied in a dry manner. _To be honest I had begun to believe he would be a lost cause with learning the technique, but he proved me wrong. Well done, Seigi, well done._

Senesati turned toward the open training field and vanished into the sunset.


End file.
